Star vs The Forces of Evil: Hidden Truth
by Terepin
Summary: Following 'Battle for Mewni', Star and Marco carry on and work through new wrinkles in their friendship. Meanwhile, an unfrozen Eclipsa Butterfly seeks contentment in a new, unforgiving age. Centuries-old secrets which left scars on the Butterfly family's history are starting to unravel. As the the long-hidden truth is finally uncovered, sooner or later someone will have to pay.
1. Chocolate Muffin

Star vs. The Forces of Evil: Hidden Truth

Chapter 1: Chocolate Muffin

The menacing looking crystal shattered into thousands of pieces, letting the Queen of Darkness free. She fell on the ground, a booming sound coming from her fall. She calmly stood up and looked around. In a noble and grandiose fashion, Eclipsa walked towards the nearby vending machine. She reached for a small ebony purse inside her sleeve and inserted a coin. She leaned over at the many snacks, and spotted the chocolate muffin and proceeded to purchase it. She picked up the muffin with her right hand and sniffed.

"300 hundred years," she said before taking a bite. She carefully chewed the baked sweet, dissecting and analyzing the taste. "Thankfully, they didn't change the recipe," she sighed.

"Now, where could it be?" Eclipsa walked down the glossy stairs towards the center of the crystallized building, and looked at all the creatures still captured inside the many crystal prisons. Some of them looked awfully familiar.

"Hmm, I wonder…" Way back in the darkest corner, a dim light shined through. Eclipsa cracked a smile. She placed herself towards the dimming light. She then placed her hand on the crystal and closed her eyes. Her cheek markings started to glow, the light matching the one coming from the crystal. Both lights got stronger and stronger to the point where the crystal simply started to melt. A victorian-era looking umbrella fell from the remains. She looked down and picked it up, her trusty umbrella.

"No lady should go out without her accessories." She turned around and gazed at the crystalized prisoners above her. Her eyes stopped wandering and focused on one crystal in particular.

"Yes, you'd do nicely." She lifted up her umbrella, a dark energy blast surged through the crystal and it was broken. A body limped forward and it falls out and hits the ground.

"...I WAS JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS!", It shouted. "W-wait…... Where… am… I?" He looked up. An imprint of pure terror falls onto his eyes. "AAAAAHH!" He yelled, he began running away from the menacing Queen, but only managed to take a few steps before he started levitating. He turned around to stare at Eclipsa; she slowly dragged him towards her.

"Erm… hi?"

"Hi? This is how you talk to your mistress? Did things regress so much in those 300 years?", Eclipsa half smiled.

"N-no, of course not, milady," he stuttered. The pathetic creature bowed. "If I may ask, why did you free _me_? Not that I don't appreciate it, I really do, I'm very grateful, but uh, you could have freed Bambino instead," he pointed at a massive silhouette encased in Rhombulus' crystal.

Eclipsa smiled.

"He would make way too much noise. No," she flicked his chin, "You, my dear Taar, will do just fine."

He smiled, but it was a nervous smile - the last time she said that he lost his left hand.

"How will we get out of here?"

"With style."

She points her umbrella at the nearest wall. A thick beam of a blackened light came out of the end and drilled a tunnel through the adamant crystal wall

"Where are we going, milady?"

Eclipsa grinned.

"Home."

Taar detected a hint of uncertainty in her voice. What can she possibly hope to find there after 300 years?

 **Chapter 1 of Hidden Truth was written by Terepin and edited by Saokpe and Haunted Melon.**


	2. A Home away from Home

Hidden Truth

Chapter 2: A Home Away from Home

A vast quiet room. A room truly fit for a queen. But nowadays, desolate and dark.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE ESCAPED?!" Moon exclaimed desperately, with a hint of fear in her tone of voice.

Looking beaten and tired, she was standing in front of a mirror, a mirror reflecting an alien figure. On the other side was Rhombulus,

"Uh-Uh-um ye-yes Queen..." Rhombulus started to speak hesitantly.

"Que-Queen Eclipsa escaped her crystal prison.."

"AND IT'S ALL HIS FAULT!" A third, snakelike, voice yelled.

"Umm.. excuse me Queen Moon.."

Rhombulus glared at the opposite direction of Moon and starts whispering to his hands. He turned back.

"So-Sorry about that." He chuckled nervously. Queen Moon sighed.

"Do you at least know where she might have gone?"

"No, Malady..."

"Maybe, THE HOLE IN THE WALL IS A CLUE!" A fourth voice added. Rhombulus once again turned around and whispered to his hands, a bit louder this time.

"She doesn't have to know about that!" He turned around with an awkward smile. Moon spoke.

"Just gather the High Commission so we can conjure a plan. I'll be there in about an hour."

"Yes, Queen Moon!"

Moon hanged up. Moon fell on top of her bed, exhausted beyond words. She was very nervous. After the stand against Toffee, the last thing she'd expected was the return of an evil queen. Didn't she and Mewni deserve some peace and quiet?

She laid down, contemplating her situation. She bolted up, now sitting, and said to herself. "I need to talk to Star."

A soft creaking sound could be heard.

"Mom.." Star unlocked the door to the Queen's and King's bedroom. Moon laid on her bed motionless, whispering to herself. "...You wanted to see me."

Moon looked back at her worried daughter. "Oh Star, come over here .. we need to talk." Star limped towards Moon, nervously shivering.

"What happened?"

Moon, hesitant, answered back.

"I called you over to tell you th-that.." Moon stuttered, ".. After what happened during the stand against Toffee, I have decided that you cannot leave Mewni."

"What? Why?!" Star snapped back, her arms flailing. Before Moon could answer back, Star continued.

"Toffee is dead! Ludo is in another dimension with no way to get back!"

Star paces herself around the room. "Why can't I go back to Earth! It's not like Eclipsa…..."

She let the Queen's name roll out her mouth. She sat back next to Moon. "Oh no no noooo…" Star stared silently at Moon and started shaking her head. "No, no no! Please don't tell me Ecipsa has escaped! Please don't!"

Moon looked pitifully at Star's face of terror. She breathed out a heavy sigh, "That is unfortunately the case."

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Star kept repeating. She started freaking out, looking one step away from a panic attack. After letting this go on for a second or two, Moon grabbed Star's face, turning it towards her. She tried to calm her down to no avail, patting her on the shoulder. Star started panting wildly. "Calm down sweetie, it's okay, it's okay." Moon embraced Star.

Star's short breaths started to get more and more spread out. Moon pushed Star back and explained, "It's only a matter of time before Eclipsa finds her way to Mewni, and in the state Mewni is in, you are the best defense the kingdom has."

Star answered back in a quick burst, "Yeah, protect the kingdom from the evil queen, got it…" Moon let go of Star. The Princess stood up, repeating what she just said.

Star walked out of the room, completely consumed in her thoughts. Suddenly, Marco burst into vision, his hoodle slightly crumpled from last night's party. "So, what happened?"

Star still in her trance walked past him. "Yeah, protect the kingdom from the evil queen, Yeah, protect the kingdom from the evil queen…"

"Star? Staaaar? STAR!"

Star snapped back to the real world. "Star, what's wrong?" Marco asked, concerned about her mental state. "Marco? Marcooooo!" Star playfully answered back, trying to hide the fear in her voice. The attempt was for vain as her face went completely serious. She placed her hands in Marco's hoodie. Marco looked down at Star's arms and then back to her face.

She stared directly at him and ordered, "You have to leave Mewni now."

"What? No-" Marco was cut off by Moon stepping out of her bedroom. The Old Queen gazed at Marco as he pushed Star's arms off his shoulder. "Marco?" she asked herself not realizing she'd said it out loud.

"Oh, hi Queen Moon." Marco kindly answered back. She responded awkwardly,"What are you still doing here? I'd think you'd go see your parents… or something." Marco positioned himself towards Moon. "About that…" Marco began, "I was planning to stay here in Mewni actually."

"What?", Both Moon and Star answered in shock. "Yeah, I even asked King River and he was down for the idea." he continued casually. Moon and Star exchanged a look. Marco took his dimensional scissors out from his pocket. "I was actually going to go tell my parents right now."

Moon was still semi-shocked by the boy's request, that it took a moment to think of an answer. She finally responded. "I suppose there is no problem as long as your parents allow it."

"Thanks Queen!" Marco thanked the Queen enthusiastically. He opened a portal in the castle hallway. "You coming, Star?" "Huh?" Star looked at Moon for approval. Moon smiled and nodded.

"Yeah sure, let's go!" Marco jumped into the portal and Star ran in after him.

Marco and Star found Earth. Marco took a deep breath of Earth's air. They were in Marco's room. "It feels like forever since I've been here." Marco exclaimed

"How long were you away from Earth?" Star asked in a patronizing tone.

"About two weeks." He answered back casually. Star's jaw dropped. "Two weeks?! Your parents must be worried sick!" Star answered in shock.

"You're right!" Marco ran downstairs, yelling for his parents. He reached the living room and saw his parents, Janna, and Jackie whispering to each other. They all goggled at him, and all bolted from their seats. His parents and Jackie ran towards Marco, yelling his name in excitement. All three embraced Marco.

"Where have you been? What happened? Are you hurt?"

Marco heard questions after questions thrown around too quickly for him to answer. Janna walked over to the cluster of people. "Hey there Diaz." She welcomed Marco unceremoniously. "Hi... Janna..." He struggled to get a word out due to being crushed. "Could you…. please…. stop...choking me..." He struggled.

"Thank you..." Marco panted. Everyone's eyes darted at Star as she slowly and awkwardly walked down the stairs. 'Star?", They all asked in unison.

"Hi-hi, everybody..."

Angie ran up the stair and hugged Star. " _Ay mija creí que no ibas a volver!"_ Rafael pulled Star from his wife. "Hi Mr and Mrs. Diaz, I-I missed you too.." Star cracked an awkward smile. Marco interrupted the moment by asking, "This is a happy reunion and all, but could I talk privately with Jackie for a moment?" Everyone started walking to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Mr. and Mrs. Diaz eavesdropped on their son's conversation. Meanwhile, Janna took the time to chat excitedly with Star. "Star! How are you?" Janna sauntered over to Star, who had been whispering to herself. "Huh? Oh..Hi there Janna."

Star continued to once again whisper to herself.

"Riiight. So are you and Marco staying on Earth?" Janna asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "No." Star answered dismissively. "Really? Then why are you here?" Janna questioned. "To tell Marco's parents that he's staying in Mewni." Star said fast without really thinking.

"He is?! Can I come too?" Janna asked, her body literally shaking with excitement. Star stared up at Janna. "What? Umm.. sure, why not?" Star answered before looking back down at the floor, whispering to herself. "Sweet! I'm gonna go get ready upstairs!" Janna ran off, running past Marco's parents listening in on Marco and Jackie talking.

"Thank god you're back Marco!", Jackie grabbed Marco's hands in joy. "Yeah, about that.." Marco glanced to his side, avoiding eye contact with Jackie. "What do you mean?" She asked, concerned. Marco finally looked up at Jackie, his eyes start to water, "I'm-I'm going back to Mewni."

Marco's parents leaped out of hiding, "YOU'RE WHAT!?", Both parents yelled in disbelief. "Oh, yeah, hehe.. forgot to tell you guys about that….."

Angie crossed her arms and gave a stern lookat Marco. "We're having a talk about this later young man!" Raphael nod in agreement. They return to eavesdropping. Marco looked back at Jackie. Jackie glanced back at Marco, slightly worried. She looked back into the kitchen to see Star panicking by herself. Jackie placed her hand on Marco's cheeks. "Marco, I get it..". Marco lightly blushed and asked, stuttering, "Yo-you do?"

"Marco, you're always talking about all the monsters that come and attack you and Star." She explained reassuringly. "It's okay, I'm sure that whatever you're doing over there is important, and I'm going to visit my family for the summer anywa-" Before Jackie could finish her sentence, Marco embraced her tightly. "I love you, Jackie" Jackie hugs Marco back, "I love you too, Marco.."

Marco and Star had spent the whole day on Earth and it was about time to leave. Marco started heading upstairs. He called over Star, who was walking past Jackie to the stairs. She waved goodbye at Jackie, smiling sadly. Marco said his goodbyes to Jackie and his parents, as him and Star headed upstairs.

Marco parents had packed him what seemed to be his whole room. He struggled to pick up his labeled suitcase. "Well... goodbye Earth..?" Marco took out his dimensional scissors from his pocket and opened up a portal to Mewni. Out of nowhere, Janna ran through the portal yelling "WHEEEE!"

"What the- Janna?" Marco asked himself, surprised. "Staar?" Marco asked in a patronizing tone.

"What? OH Janna. Yeah, I let her come along.." She answered, entranced in her thoughts. "WHAT! Why would you do that?!" Marco complained.

"I don't know.."

Marco left out a heavy sigh. He went to grab his scissors, which he had placed in his pockets. The pocket was empty.

"JANNA TOOK MY SCISSORS!" Marco ran after Janna, thourolly enraged. Star walked cheerfully through the portal, counting something with her fingers. After giving Janna a good chase for a couple of minutes, Marco got tired. Star walked up next to him, seemingly ignoring him.

Marco looked at her with suspicion. "Star, what's wrong?"

"Huh…"

Marco stood up straight and positioned himself toward Star, his arms keeping her pinned. "You've been acting weird all day." Star looked up at Marco, lightly blushing, and shaking her head in denial. "No, no, no, no, nothing's wrong.." She chuckled softly. Marco glared sternly at Star, "What. Is. Wrong?"

Star let out a sigh and started. "Weeeell, you know when I told you about the evil queen Eclipsa.." Star then proceeded to explain the whole Eclipsa situation to Marco. "..and that's why I've been acting so stressed." There was an awkward silence broken by Marco erupting in laughter.

"Wha-why are you laughing?' Star asked, a bit concerned for Marco's sanity. Marco slowed down his laughter, still chuckling. "You're scared of an evil Queen without her wand?" Marco started laughing once more. Star stared at him, with annoyance rising."Umm, yes.."

Marco placed one hand on Star's shoulder. "You killed an immortal being Star! AN IMMORTAL BEING! And you're scared of a powerless Queen!"

Marco continued to laugh. Star took a minute to think. She chuckled but slowly started to laugh with Marco.

"You're right! Why should I be afraid of Eclipsa! I'm the one with the wand! I'm the one that defeated Toffee not Eclipsa!" They continued laughing for a couple seconds more. Star then started yelling "I can beat Eclipsa!" over and over again.

Marco joined her personal protest by yelling alongside her "You can beat Eclipsa!", repeatedly. They were suddenly interrupted by Janna, who had been running excitedly around the plane that they had portaled too. She pointed to a forest nearby. She glanced at Star and asked enthusiastically, "Can we go hiking there?" Marco and Star both looked at the forest Janna was pointing at. Star went back to Janna and answered, "Sure, why not."

Janna screamed in joy and excitement as Star and Marco walked towards the forest. On their way there, Star mentioned that the forest was near Rhombulus' house. Marco asked "Do you think we'll encounter Eclipsa?"

They both had a quick chuckle before Star answered back, "I sure hope so, cause then I could beat her so fast, she wouldn't even get the chance to summon a single warnicorn."

They reached the menacing looking forest fairly quickly. They stood in front of the forest. Janna asked the pair, "What's this forest even called?" They both answer back in unisense, Star with confidence and Marco with a hint of regret, "The Forest of Certain Death." There's silence "Oh." Star and Janna tiptoed inside the forest without hesitation. Marco followed close behind with else than fearless nerves. As they walked in, they heard a distant screeching and birds flying off to the distance. They shrugged it off and continued on their hike.

END OF CHAPTER 2.


	3. The Well

Hidden Truth

Chapter 3: The Well

A very long tunnel. Crystals under his feet. Crystals to the left and right. Crystals above his head. For a person that spent over 300 years in one of them, this wasn't exactly a pleasure cruise. The fact that his height was barely one meter didn't help it at all. But he stood firmly. That is, as firmly as a small person that was shaking to the bones from fear possibly could.

"A pretty long tunnel, I would say, heh," he nervously chuckled. If he didn't know Eclipsa, he'd actually hold her dress like a child who didn't expect the ice-cream man to be an old grumpy dude. "Are we close?"

"I wouldn't know."

Eclipsa's calm voice didn't make him feel reassured. If anything it made him feel like a walking chow for an angry dog that would be guarding the wicket at the end of the tunnel. This idea sent his mind down the spiral of endless fear, until he actually grabbed her dress. Eclipsa didn't say a word. She just looked down at him with her cold, bottomless eyes. Suddenly, the prospect of being food for a hungry, angry dog seemed like a more promising outcome. He quickly let go of her dress and grabbed the clothes attached to his skin instead. But this didn't help him feel any better.

His face was gently caressed by a breeze. Eclipsa's hat was smoothly waving and her wardrobe enjoyed fresh air for the first time in 30 decades, when they emerged into…

"Ah, a bit of fre-" he looked around him with a hint of panic. "-sh air?" He took few steps in front of Eclipsa. "Really? After 300 years of staring at Bambino's butt, we got out to.. to… the Forest of Certain Death?!" In the heat of his frustration, he didn't realize he overstepped. Eclipsa lifted her umbrella and smacked him on his head.

"Oh, I mean - yay, Forest of Certain Death! What a great day to be alive for." He retracted his previous statement in a false burst of enthusiasm. "For however long that might be," Laar added silently.

"It's a necessary evil."

"But why, milady? You could just swoop into the castle and pick it clean."

"I have no interest in that chunk of rock. I didn't spend so many years trapped in a crystal just to reopen old wounds. Mewni is dead to me."

"I see. But then why come here?"

"I'm going home. My real home. That's what I wanted to do ever since I got trapped in Rhombulus's crystal. That's what I ever really wanted…"

The Forest of certain death - the only place on Mewni where paranoia is a sign of good mental health. If you fear that bunnies behind the bushes are sharpening their knives to butcher you, if you hear wind plotting ways to kill you, if you ever felt that trees want to burrow you into the ground by smacking your head into oblivion, be assured - such things are certainly possible here. It won't help you to survive by any means, but you'll die with a smile, knowing that you knew, unlike those tourists sniffing the cute little flowers.

Laar knew all of this, and then some. This place took his left arm and he had no desire to lose another limb. But something felt off. The whole forest was calm, as if some greater force than itself was walking across the endless acres of horrible death. He looked up at Eclipsa. If she had any emotions, she was hiding them well behind an impenetrable wall made of steel and concrete. Her walk was stoick, her posture firm, with eyes unshakably focused on her destination. The Forest knew better than to intervene.

"If you don't mind me asking, milady, why is it that the Forest doesn't mind us being here?"

"Me."

"Sorry?"

"He doesn't mind _me_. If you took five steps away from me, you'd probably be in several places at once."

"So, u-uhm, why is that?"

"Most of my studies took place here. He teached me how to tap into the Forest's flow of dark magic."

"I see. Well, wouldn't he be waiting for you here? You were imprisoned for over 300 years." 

She didn't answer. This very question crossed her mind too. She didn't know the answer and she didn't really want to know. If he wasn't here for her, something had to happen. But she couldn't afford such thoughts. Not in this place.

After some time, he noticed something: trees were getting thicker and light dimmer. Sounds of footsteps were getting heavier and very unpleasant. But then he looked at Eclipsa's face and he began to wonder if he should take his chances running out of here alone. Her eyes and cheek marking had this thin, faint purple glow. And as they went further, it got more vibrant.

She took a deep breath. "I like this place. Such a raw force of nature, just waiting to be used."

Her attitude started to change. Laar wasn't sure if he likes what he's seeing.

"Where are we going exactly, milady?"

"To the Well."

"To what now?"

"It's in the very center of this forest. It is where all the magic around here originates from."

"Oh. So, you're gonna… recharge?"

This question made Eclipsa uneasy. "No!" Her tone wasn't exactly angry, but more like a warning shot. She calmed down a little. "Magic, just like many other skills, requires practice. And I am out of it. This pla-" She sensually sighed. "I'm too rusty, using such amount of potent magic could… not end well." She had bigger trouble to concentrate with each step she took.

She was desperately trying to remain focused. Not practicing magic for so long left its mark on her and her spells. Walking so close to the Well was infusing her body with the purest and strongest form of dark magic. Most of those who came here to harness it for their own need ended up blowing themselves up instead. She almost made the same mistake when she first came here, untrained and unaware of risks. He saved her, but this time he was nowhere to be found and her only companion was a rat-looking thing with insecurities.

"Hello."

Her train of thoughts was suddenly interrupted by a child's voice coming from behind. Being already shaken, Eclipsa fought back the instinct to blast it into smithereens. After she saw the small boy's face, she was glad she held back.

"Jack," she smiled. "It's good to see… ugh… you."

"Who is that?" asked Laar. 

"Shut up and get behind me."

Jack was, without a question, the cutest little boy ever walked on this planet. But these were deep parts of the Forest and cuteness could very well chop your head off. Despite being groggy by the sheer amount of magical energy flowing through her body, she maintained enough of sanity to keep herself in check.

"It's good to see you again. How are you?"

"Lonely." He was standing there without moving a muscle. Eclipsa raised her eyebrow.

"Lonely, you say? Didn't he bring you any candies?"

"No. He didn't come as you promised. You didn't come as you promised."

"I know, sweetheart. I know. But aunt Eclipsa was… occupied as of late. I couldn't…"

"I wanted to play. I wanted to talk. I wanted… candies." The last word didn't sound right.

"Now, listen up, Jack. I need tooo…" The unintended prolonged presence on this place wasn't doing her any good. "Aunt Eclipsa needs to go home, ok? I will take same candies, return back and we can take a walk. What do you say? But I must go now!" 

He didn't say anything. He just was just standing there, silently staring at her. That was the answer she needed.

"Laar, be ready to follow me," she whispered.

She made one small step back. The boy's body was still motionless, but somehow made a sound of breaking bones

"RUN!" she shouted.

"CANDIES!" Jack didn't sound like a lovable little boy anymore.

They both started running for their lives. Laar, being smaller and thinner, had an advantage. Eclipsa, on the other hand, was dressed for a ball and not for running through a thick forest. And it was getting thicker and thicker, more foggier and magic was getting so dense that she had to force her way through. The Well was very close now. And so was Jack.

"WHY DID YOU ABANDON ME?! YOU SAID YOU WOULD TAKE CARE OF ME!"

Eclipsa was having a hard time focusing on his voice. In fact, she had trouble focusing on anything. Her emotions were starting to get a hold over her and she wasn't able to stay in control for much longer.

She tripped over Laar and fell down.

"The trees, my queen! They are everywhere. We can't go any further!"

She barely looked up and saw faint glimmering light coming through small cracks between trees. The Well was within reach.

She didn't want this. The plan was to go to the Well and be done with it. But Jack was left alone for way too long. And without any affection, his hunger, for it started to grow.

"I WANT YOU TO BE WITH ME. I WANT YOU TO BE MY MOMMY." His voice was coming from everywhere. Laar was looking for him, but he couldn't find him. Yet he could swear he was shouting to his ears. "BE WITH ME!" What Laar didn't know was that Jack's idea of family that he longed for so long was twisted. And permanent.

Suddenly, the trees started to move. They came together, their boughs started to intertwine, forming a shape. Shape of a face.

"Jack," said Eclipsa silently as she was turning to him.

"THIS is him?!" yelled Laar.

"I WANT TO HUG YOU, MOMMY!" Boughs were reaching Eclipsa.

She realized that there was no way out of it. She had to risk it. She picked up her wand and stood up. The crystal on the umbrella started to glow.

" _You were a bad boy, Jack._ " Eclipsa's voice was giving Laar the shivers. " _There will be punishment for you. This behavior won't be tolerated._ "

Jack stopped. Her voice made him unsure. It was the voice of an angry mother.

" _You need to sleep._ " 

She lifted her wand and casted a spell in a monster language. A dark violet light bursted out of the crystal, turning everything into ash. 

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

But the force was too great. She started to lose control over it. 

"Milady, he is gone. You can stop now!"

But she didn't. She tightened the grip of the wand and smiled. The feel of power took control over her. Chunk after chunk, bits of Forest were getting obliterated. She wasn't stopping. She didn't _want_ to stop. 

"Queen! Eclipsa! He is waiting for you!"

Her smile was gone. The hundreds of years without his voice, his touch was resurfacing. She slowly started to reduce the power, but it was difficult. She hadn't felt so much power for so long… It felt so nice. But she desired to return to him even more. With every ounce of remaining self-control she had left, she quickly turned the umbrella upside down and shoved it into the ground. An implosion threw Laar back into the trees. As he looked up, he saw small particles of dark magic floating around her.

"We need to go. Now."

She was hurt - she had bruises all over her hands and face. She took the umbrella out of the ground and approached the trees surrounding The Well. With one quick panache she cut them into pieces. And there it was, surrounded by a dark purple haze.

"We need to go in."

"Say what?!" 

She grabbed him and tossed him into The Well. She then jumped over it, opened the umbrella and elegantly entered.

The Forest of certain death was once again silent.

 **Chapter 3 of the Hidden Truth was written by Terepin and edited by Haunted Melon and Saokpe.**


	4. Hidden Truth

A couple days had passed since Janna, Star, and Marco's exhibition through the Forest of Certain Death. Throughout the hike, nothing of importance (or creepiness) happened which seemed to disappoint Janna, but that didn't stop her from aweing at the majesticness of Mewni Castle. The Queen and King weren't too happy that Star had brought another human to stay in Mewni Castle, but they didn't seem to put up much resistance. Instead they nagged Star about letting humans go through the Forest of Certain Death, mostly referring to Janna as Marco had proven himself as a capable fighter. But something was off with the forest, as if the whole thing was focusing on a fixed point, as if it was ignoring the teens. Star said that nothing of interest was in there, but certain whisperings and ruffles in the bushes caused by bunnies.. After some arguing between the royal family, the Queen and King let it go, and allowed Janna to stay in the Castle but only as a guest of Star.

A couple days had passed; nothing was happening, all except for one peculiar thing. Throughout the last few days, when Star walked around a specific point of the castle, her wand started to glow.

"Why do you think it's like this? Is it going to explode?" Star joked.

"Naw. It's pretty slick though." Janna said, spreading her toes across the hallway.

When Marco first noticed it, he had a different response. "Whenever your wand glows, something bad starts happening. You should get it checked up."

Some time passed and the glow had lost it's charm. It had actually started to blink in her bedroom.

Janna, who had been sleeping in her room for the last few days, never seemed to mind, but for Star it was the last straw.

"I'm putting an end to this!"

Star jumped out of her bed. Tripping over every useless object and item of clothing that Janna and herself had left on the floor, she managed to find the door. Janna didn't seem to have noticed and the blinking was starting to lessen as Star made her way down to her best friend's room.

She slowly opened the creaking door, making sure not to wake anyone up. The night light of Mewni reflected the boy's room, a room Star had made him as a perfect replica of his room on Earth. Star entered, her wand's glow now fully extinguished. She sneakily walked next to the sleeping Marco and gave him a quick shake to wake him up. Once that didn't work, she shook him to the best of her ability. Not only did this wake up the boy, but also freaked him out enough for him to fall of his bed.

He quickly stood back up in a karate pose assuming the worst. He let out a loud, "WHO'S THERE?!" before Star put her index finger up to his mouth. "Shhh, we need to be silent. We don't want to wake up anyone else, _especially_ my parents, because they-"

"Uhm, Star?"

"Yes?"

"I haven't said a word for a good couple of seconds."

Only then she realized she was still touching his lips. "Oh, sorry, I uhm.. Heh." She nervously chuckled and created what she hoped to be a sincere smile to ease up the situation. It wasn't. Marco, strangely, didn't seem to mind that much. "Aaaaaanyway, this stupid glow of wand of mine has been bugging me for days and I wanna find out why."

"Sounds good," he nodded his head in agreement. "But why did you wake me up when you have Janna sleeping in your room?"

Star froze. That was a pretty good question. "Because, uhm… you're Marco, hehe."

"Yeah, that doesn't explain anything."

"Oh, come on. We always go on adventures together. Besides, Janna is… well, Janna. She always somehow manages to make weird comments that turn completely normal situations into awkward silence."

Marco looked at Star's right hand. Star looked at her right hand. And to her dismay, she found it on Marco's shoulder. _How the heck did it get there? And when?!_

"You mean like right now?"

"Shut up and help me."

Marco pushed her pale arm away and questioned, "But Star, why are we doing this in the middle of the night?"

"Weeeell.." The princess started sheepishly "... After what happened with Toffee, my mom is still a little bit on edge. And the fact that Eclipsa escaped didn't help the matter. If my mother even hears her name..."

A voice was heard from the other side of the hallway...

" _WHO'S THERE?! SHOW YOURSELF!"_ The voice was a mixture of anger, fear and anxiety.

" _Honey, why are you shouting at an empty hallway?"_

" _I heard Eclipsa. At least, I think I did."_

" _Sweetheart, she isn't here. For all we know she might not even be in Mewni anymore. Come back to bed, we can cuddle a little and then-"_ the voice disappeared after doors closed.

Star and Marco were both kneeling close to the room's wall.

"You see?" whispered Star. "She wasn't this scared even when Toffee was around"

As the two teenagers trekked down the dark hallway, Star's new wand glowed brighter than it had before. The two of them blocked their eyes from the glow, which proved to make walking in general rather hard. Marco, pretty annoyed by the situation, took off his hoodie, exposing himself to the night's cold breeze, and wrapped it around the glowing wand. Marco's gray shirt hugged his body tightly. As they walked, Star tried not to stare. Marco, on the other hand, seemed unfazed as he mostly seemed relieved that most of the blinding light was gone. An awkward silence started to creep onto both teens. This was the first time that Star and Marco have been by themselves in complete peace since the End Of School Party at the Diaz house. The tension between them was thick.

Star couldn't help but think, _"He knows."_

After a while it seemed Marco was going to say something, before he was interrupted by Star, "Oh thank Mewni we're finally here!" An awkward chuckle escaped Marco's mouth, "Yeah…" They walked into the tapestry filled room; the wand glowing brighter than ever before. Marco's hoodie didn't seem to be holding back the light as well now. After a bit of wandering, they passed by a specific tapestry which seemed to set off the wand, which abruptly let out a truly blinding spell. Luckily the two best friends noticed beforehand and covered their sensitive eyes. An explosion of light devoured the whole room, a room isolated enough from the rest of the castle, for no one else to seem to notice the glowing hell that just occurred. Marco hesitantly lowered his hand from his face. When he saw that the coast was clear, he lowered Star's hand for her.

Star looked around the rather normal seeming room.

"Star?" Marco grabbed Star's hand and pointed at the wall right behind them. A large silhouette of a framed picture hung over. The tapestry of an unrecognisable Queen of Mewni stood broken into pieces before them. Star looked around, she had never remembered there being a shattered tapestry, she didn't remember there being a tapestry on that wall in the first place. Marco wandered in the dark, silent room, with what felt like vindictive eyes staring at him. " _Who would guess that there was this whole artwork on this wall, and nobody ever noticed?"_ he thought.

After a bit of searching, Marco found two pathways leading to a dark abyss that he hadn't seen when he first entered the room. "Star!" He yelled. She walked over and Marco explained, "Those weren't in here when we walked in, right?"

Star contemplated Marco's discovery and came to what she thought was a sensible solution. "There was obviously an obscuring spell here…." She looked at Marco with the eyes of a kid that had a new toy within its reach. Marco knew it would be pointless to argue with her. "Maybe….. one of them can explain that mysterious tapestry over there or the wand acting all weird…" Marco glanced at Star with a face of concern that the princess was very used to.

"Are you sure Star? I don't even think these hallways have an end to them." Star scoffed at the idea, stating, "Come on Diaz, every inch of this castle has been dissected, if this really was dangerous they would have blocked it off." Marco let out a sigh of reluctant acceptance. "You're the princess." "Yes I am.." They both walked into their respective pathways letting the darkness of the hallways consume them.

 _Star POV_

At first, all Star could see was an empty void, nothing growing, nothing moving. Occasionally, she felt the soft texture of moist moss under her boots. The endless darkness was disturbing to Star, but was also strangely soothing…. Like she could take a nap here and forget about her problems…. Forget about Eclipsa, Mewni,... And Marco.

She obeyed the strange force of nature, and curled up into a ball on the floor. The darkness beckoned, it slithered towards her. She couldn't do anything.

Then the screaming began.

Tendrils of colored smoke burst out of Star's eyes, causing her to yell out in agony. The mist curled around her legs and arms, forcing her to stay put. Her eyes bulged with piercing pain, and a strange dream started to unfold around her.

She saw herself and Marco….. Happy? Holding hands… That was normal for them. But Star could see the way she looked at Marco, with crushed eyes and amourae. That was normal as well. But something was different….. Marco was looking at her this way too! Was this…. A vision? Was she and Marco destined to be together?!

Star would have been pulsating in joy if she wasn't being controlled by the mist.

But the dream went on, and quickly flipped through the months. The once happy couple started to deteriorate, the image crumbling into dust, replaced by both of them with a scowl on their faces, staring away from each other.

Star felt something rise in her gut….. Guilt. Was this how they would end? Whose fault was it… _Probably mine._

The dream continued, showing images of both Star and Marco getting older, and consequently further apart. Somewhere along the line, Marco disappeared entirely, leaving Star with a crown on her head. Her cheek marks were faded.

 _NO._

 _This isn't how it's going to happen._

 _I'll make sure of it. I'll be careful._

Star hesitated, as the dream and mist started washing away with the wind.

 _If we dare to start something… Even knowing how it'll end…_

 _Wait, no…. No….. I can't do this. I can't do this to Marco and Jackie, I mean, look at them!_

_You know you want to._

 _No. I'll…. I'll stay his friend. I'll be supporting. Maybe….. Maybe in the future. Maybe….._

 _I can't stay like this. Not like whatever I am now, half of what I used to be. I need…. Marco._

 _I'll have to risk it._

Star sighed, the mist unshackling her. The way out was clear, and a thick papery piece of the tapestry was on the floor, revealing the mysterious figure's right side. She was obviously beautiful, with curly blond hair, not unlike Star's. An imprint of a crown could be seen as well.

She stared up at the sky.

The first piece had been found.

 _Marco POV_

Marco trekked on, unwielding and strong. _He_ managed to resist the temptations of the mist, evercurling. Marco would swat away the tendrils as they marched towards him, keeping them at bay. However, it never really left, and only grew more intense.

"Great." Marco muttered, "First the wand, and now this?"

Marco could hear faint watery noises underneath, as the plit pat of puddles started to appear. Obviously this tunnel wasn't well kept at all. However, the light of day was coming closer and closer, and Marco could see the faint imprint of a tapestry piece. Smiling, he momentarily lost focus, and the mist suddenly grappled his ankles.

Yelling out at the sudden touch, Marco tried to swat the mist away, in vain as the tendrils swam up his body, and dug at his head. He fell on the ground, trembling in fear.

The smoky mess started to form around him into two familiar figures: Him and Jackie. They sort of floated around each other, growing further and further apart. Marco watched in horror as Jackie and himself started yelling at each other, with it all culminating in Jackie throwing a brick at him and stomping off.

Was….. This the future of their relationship? It couldn't be…. Right? What would possibly be strong enough to bring their perfect bond apart?

 _Star._

Marco froze in contemplation, his brain warring with itself.

 _No, she wouldn't do this to me! She's my friend, she understands how I feel!_

 _Yeah right. Have I been even looking at her? She wants me, I'm sure. If she_ _hadn't burst out that she had a crush on me, everything would be fine. If she didn't have a crush to begin with, everything would be perfect._

 _She can't control that, and I know it._

 _And think about it…. Don't you feel the same too?_

Marco's anger started to bubble up.

 _NO. NO. Jackie is my one and only. I've_ always _had a crush on her. I don't love Star… I don't. I do NOT…. Agh. Me and Jackie belong together. If Star can't figure that out…_

 _I. Only. Like. Jackie._

The tendrils retreated, withering away, but never really leaving. However, it left a clear enough path for Marco to proceed into the light. The tapestry piece was hanging on the wall, showing the left side of the original tapestry. Marco could see the ornate contents, the crown, and most mysterious of all, the wand. It was held in her left fist, being held almost forcefully. It was deep blue in color, with the crystal appearing light purple in the shape of an orb, with a small sand clock inside. Burning Pheonix wings shutted out from the sides.

The second piece was found.

Both teens independently walked out of the pathways. Both ended up back in the tapestry room.

Silence.

"I found a piece…" Star exclaimed, breaking the silence. Marco didn't respond but instead lifted his right arm showing her his piece of the tapestry. "Right…" Star started walking toward the mysterious, shattered picture, and Marco closely followed. Although they both held rather large chunks of the tapestry, it wasn't enough to show its full picture. A sizable piece in the middle was missing; the tapestry wasn't complete. Although the mystery of this tapestry wasn't solved, both friends weren't willing to investigate further, at least not now.

As they walked back to their rooms, as if to forget that the events of the night even happened, a metaphorical fog of guilt and tension crept in. The fog was thick, unnerving. The two of them used to be so open with each other, but it was obvious that there was something they were hiding from each other and from themselves, something that they didn't want known, nor were willing to admit, or so they thought.

Star, trying to blow away the fog, asked Marco an inadvertently heavy question. "So...that hallway, huh?" she let out an awkward chuckle. Her attempt of alleviating tension only reinforced it. Marco was silent.

A million thoughts ran through his mind. " _What am I doing? I left my girlfriend to stay with Star in another DIMENSION! Who am I kidding? NO! I LOVE JACKIE! ... What did she see? Should I address it? After so long… of chasing what seemed like an impossible dream, I have it, I have the perfect girlfriend."_ The boy gazed over at Star who was staring forward as stiff as a board. She was beautiful, with her long blond hair…. A little like Jackie's actually. She would look a lot like her if she cut her hair short.

" _At least I thought…"_ After what felt like hours of contemplating to Marco, he blurted out a response. "Yeah...it was pretty wild?" Star knew that Marco wasn't comfortable, she knew that whatever the boy saw had to do with her… and Jackie.

Star and Marco reached their respective bedrooms. They both knew that what happened tonight wasn't going to be mentioned any time soon. They were aware of the conflict inside each of their heads, they read each other like a book. They knew more than what the other thought. They were best friends, nothing more, just friends. _They…_

They both learned an important lesson tonight. Whether they realized it or not. Faced with the worst of their fears. It was hard to believe they could overcome them…...

 **The Hidden Truth Chapter 4 was written by Saokpe and Haunted Melon; it was edited by Terepin.**


	5. Visitors

**Sorry for the delayed chapter upload, there were some issues with editing and we couldn't release this chapter until now. Hope you enjoy!**

Silence. As a syrup trickling down on pancakes, it rallied the still forest. Absolute tranquility. An oasis of peace and…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- ugh!" Laar landed on the ground like a bag of potatoes. He started whining, "Uh-Ow. Everything hurts. Even bones I didn't know I had hurt."

Eclipsa grandiosely exited The Well gliding down with her multitool umbrella.

"That's just so not fair."

"Stop yammering, you'll live. We need to move." Her face and hands were covered in bruises, but if she felt any pain, she was channeling it all into anger. "I'm going to have a serious talk with him." She decidedly started marching towards her home.

The Unseen Manor. A majestic, although a bit conservative, piece of architecture placed in the middle of nowhere. The fact that it was created inside The Well was no accident. No one could find, let alone enter, this pocket dimension. _He_ had created it and everything in it just for her – as a gift for his "precious dark flower". When she was young, she liked to roam the outer edges of Forest of Certain Death to pick flowers. They had this weird, but fascinating aura, that made them look almost unearthly. And which plants better embody this place than flowers which seem to be simply unusable for any other garden?

Here, in the plains of nothingness, they fit in perfectly. Everything in this place was artificial – from the sky that was never blessed by sunlight, to the lifeless wasteland below. Monsters never really grasped the concept of "looking alive", so Eclipsa stepped in and helped him shape this place into something more… lively. It was still pretty empty – no animals, no smell, no wind – only endless horizons filled with emptiness. But the forest and gardens around the manor added a nice hint of life. But Laar always felt on the edge here, and his head snapped to look back every once in awhile. Even if this forsaken place was filled with cute little bunnies from top to bottom, any living being would go nuts after spending just a minute here. The constantly present smell of death that was hanging in the air wouldn't allow anything survive here for long.

Eclipsa, touched and eventually consumed by dark magic, could withstand this place . The only thing that she couldn't withstand was loneliness. And standing in front of Unseen Manor, she felt like every thing she hated the most in life was staring back at her, drilling deep into her black heart. The manor looked abandoned. Uncomfortable ideas were running through her mind, sending shivers down her back. " _Where is everyone?"_

Laar gazed at the empty building in front of him. "I know this isn't exactly a party clubhouse, but I expected at least _some_ welcoming. Where the heck is every- Wait, did you hear that?" His question was interrupted by a faint sound coming from behind them. But when he looked back, there was nothing there. "What was that?"

"Shhh!" Eclipsa heard it too. It was moving all around them. If she didn't know better, she'd say it was trying to surround them. "It sounds…... familiar."

They were both trying to pinpoint the source of the mysterious sound, but to no avail. It then suddenly stopped. Disturbing silence took its place.

"Damned bugs!" Itches ran across Laar's legs.

"Nothing lives here."

"Then what…?" As he looked down to check on his leg, he saw a tiny stem circling around his ankle. "Oh crap!"

The stem tightened its grip and briskly pulled him down to the ground. Many other stems quickly came out of hiding and went for Eclipsa as well. "What the hell is this thing?!"

Eclipsa retracted her umbrella and started using it as a knife, chopping every green tentacle trying to reach at her. Although her skills at 'using an umbrella as a knife' were unmatchable, they were simply too fast and too many, she couldn't possibly hold them off for much longer. She knew what she had to do, but after what happened a few minutes ago, she wasn't exactly excited to go through the whole experience again. But the stems didn't leave her much of a choice.

She firmly gripped her wand, closed her eyes and allowed the magic of this bizarre place to infuse her body and mind with power. To her horrifying surprise, this place was out of juice. There was absolutely nothing in here she could tap into. She was powerless and after few more minutes, she'd end up like a compost for the very plants that were trying to bury her alive.

The plants were very skilled in pulling down Laar. Him being small, he couldn't give much of a fight, although he was trying his best. "Leave me alone, you overgrown salad!", He yelled, tugging at his knee. The chances of him surviving this experience were getting slimmer and slimmer with each passing second. But Laar refused to lose hope. "After I get out of here, I'll burn you into ground. You hear me? I WILL OBLITERATE YOU! I WI-" His last word was cut short when the stems dragged him into a thick bush.

Eclipsa, although still alive, was inevitably reaching her end. The Queen of Darkness, Monster Lover, killed by some weed. Nothing short of a miracle would save her now. "I refuse to go down like this! Not on my turf. Not on my home. MY OWN HOME!" She was truly scary yelling like that, but plants didn't seem to care much for her threats.

After numerous tries, one tentacle finally managed to latch itself onto her leg. Eclipsa quickly chopped it off, but soon after a second came. Then a third. And then a fourth. She dropped her wand and let the situation take its course. Tentacle after tentacle viciously wrapped themselves around her body. With what seemed like the speed of light, they dragged her into the manor's cellar, the wand left lying on the ground, abandoned.

Heavy silence had dropped onto the battlefield. The absence of sound was once again roaming freely-

 _Chop_

-without any interruption-

 _Chop-chop_

-as the master of the land.

 _Chop-snip-chop_

A thick bush started to shake. Something was definitively moving around inside it. It was moving front and back, front and back. Laar leaped out of the bush, his arms extended widely.

"Kch-kch-kch! He-kch-he-he!" He slowly rose up on his feet. "Next time you want to eat me alive, make sure not to do it next to all my gardening tools!" He was still shaking a little bit, but was determined to give a hell of a fight. "OK, who wants some more?!" But the plants weren't interested in him anymore. In fact, they didn't seem to be alive. He looked around and noticed Eclipsa was gone. That only things left were a ton of chopped stems. And… her wand. He came closer to inspect it. It didn't seem to be damaged in any way. He didn't dare to pick it up, as he wasn't sure what would happen if he would and he had no interest in finding it out. "If you are here, then where is your owner?"

Lying down in a cold, wet floor. Unbearable stench creeping inside her nose. Only dim, barely registrable light around. Eclipsa wasn't happy with the state of her manor, which she cared about deeply and even deeper in keeping it clean.

"Who are you? How dare you to invade this place?!" She could barely see fuzzy silhouettes in the distance. But they were there - standing, silently judging her.

" _Who are you? How dare you to invade this place?!"_ They repeated her exact words in the most unnatural voice. It didn't even bother to go through ears, it just drilled itself directly into their skulls.

"Come out of the shadows so I can see the faces I'm about to shatter into pieces!"

" _Come out of the shadows so I can see the faces I'm about to shatter into pieces!"_

"You tied me up, you morons!"

This time they took their sweet time to answer. _Morons._ A single voice repeated her last word in the same insufferable way. _Yes, we were called by this name before._

"I don't care how you were called! Untie me this instant, or I'll wipe the floor with you!"

One of the figures stepped forward. The dim light illuminated its perfectly black shoes, straight black trousers, well dressed jacket on top of a spotless white waistband, with an ideally tied necktie and… an owl head. " _And how are you planning to do that?"_ Even when speaking, the entire body was stiff and motionless. " _It's not like you can just move around, now can you?"_

The owl head detached itself from the body and on its countless tiny (what seemed like) legs went down on its own body and jumped on Eclipsa's head. The entire movement was smooth, elegant and without a single sound. The head bent over and looked directly into her eyes. For a moment she was afraid that it was going to claw them out.

"Who, or should I rather ask, what are you?" _"What an interesting creature. Hmm."_

It was examining her eyes with great interest. " _We are…"_ The owl straightened itself up and slowly crawled down her back. " _Visitors. Yes. You can call us Visitors."_ Not once during its speech was its beak moving. It was unnerving, even for her. The head flew up and landed back on its body. Seeing that the answer it provided wasn't sufficient for Eclipsa, it continued. " _You could say we are travelers. Yes, that we are. We travel from place to place, from people to people and from one event to another. And on our journey we stumbled upon this abandoned place. Indeed, abandoned._

"What did you do to people that were living here?"

" _You are not listening. Truly, you aren't. We found it like this."_

"Somehow, I don't believe you."

" _What you believe is of no consequence to us. It isn't, no. We are merely presenting facts. Your acceptance is not required."_

The shadowy figure slowly walked to the nearest bundle of vines. " _I believe your people drink this, for pleasure, yes? Yes, you do."_ It picked up one of the bottles and read the sticker. " _It is unfortunate that we are unable to experience its properties. It is sad, yes. We heard it's quite enjoyable."_ It then opened its shadowy fist and let the bottle hit the ground. The captivating smell of spoiled wine started to spread across the room.

"If you didn't come here for us, then why did you?"

" _You aren't listening. No, she isn't. We came to visit."_

This answer didn't explain anything to Eclipsa, but she couldn't care less what they were or why they were here. This was her property and she wouldn't allow it to be occupied by these… creatures.

Laar was following a trail into the cellar. But the way in was blocked. Luckily, and unfortunately, he knew another route - through vast chambers of library. He hated that place. One would think that a place such as that would be lit, alas it had the exact same amount of light as every other part of the manor. So if anyone wanted to pick a book and read it, they would have to take it to their room. Clearly, common sense wasn't one of the virtues that the inhabitants of this place were blessed with.

As he was wandering around the manor, he looked back at the wand. Would she really leave it here? He almost felt… sorry for it. He approached it and looked down at it. The wand didn't seem to be doing anything. It was just laying there, on the dirt. Should he bring it with him? Bah, to hell with it! He reached for the elegant looking umbrella and picked it up. To his amazement his left hand was still intact; the wand didn't seem to mind being carried by him.

And so, with his new unexpected companion, he went around behind the Unseen Manor. The doors he was searching for were small and hidden between the grass. Hidden way too well as it turned out. After minutes of clueless searching, he sat down. "Now what?" He didn't notice it, but the wand's crystal eye blinked and started to glow. The doors abruptly opened. He jumped back to his feet. Fearing that someone else was inside, he looked around the area. But he was alone. Out of curiosity he checked the wand. The crystal had just faded out. "Thank you," he whispered.

The stairs went deep down into the caves underneath the manor. He could never understand why the library couldn't be build on the surface, next to the manor. But then again, he couldn't understand a lot of things about this place, like why there was only one toilet. The library itself was situated in huge and vast caverns, going as far as eyes could see. Laar had nothing against books themselves. But this place was giving the impression that it… lived. It was nonsense, of course, because caverns are notoriously known for not being alive. Maybe it was because of the shadows that were casting those few useless torches there. Whatever the reason, he was standing in its hallways once again and he could swear something was watching him the whole time.

Step after step, he was nervously progressing between regals of books. He had no idea what were written in them. His educational guess was "nothing good", because it was mostly _him_ that would be reading them. If Eclipsa ever visited this place, it was because she was looking for quiet seclusion. From time to time he peeked behind himself, but the hallway was as empty as it was when he entered it. And yet, he had this uncomfortable feeling that someone or something was breathing down his neck. But the wand was just calmly resting in his sweaty hand, so that meant no danger was imminent. If only he could believe it…

He found it. It was way back, hidden in a corner. A chair, a table and an ashtray. No light source whatsoever, just these three things packed between regals. Among all the old stuff, the furniture had this weird, welcoming charm. Looking at it, fatigue started to close his eyes.

"Maybe I'll sit down for a while. Hmm, what's this? A book."

The chair was so so cushy, so soft, so…

He woke up to the sound of something heavy falling down. Still very sleepy, he tried to search for the source. But the surroundings were still lifeless.

Thug

Or so it seemed.

Thug

It almost sounded like books were falling down. But where?

THUG

He jumped on his feet. That wasn't a book, unless, of course, the book was the size of a small troll.

"I'd better not find you sitting in there and smoking my finest weed!" The screeching female voice was getting under his skin. But….. What tobacco? There was nothing here, even if he wanted to smoke. He quickly turned around. There was a long, elegant pipe on the table. And it was still burning. How the heck did it get there?!

"JUST BECAUSE YOU MARRIED MY SON DOESN'T MEAN I WILL TOLERATE THEFT OF MY BELONGINGS!"

Whatever it was, it was getting closer. The wooden regals were starting to creek.

"I knew there was something in here!"

"HE WON'T PROTECT YOU WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!"

He wanted to escape, but the doors that were supposed to be next to the table were gone. "What is happening here?!"

THUG

The vibrations from the steps made the ground tremble. Books started to fall down one by one. He quickly hid below the table; some of the books had several kilos and could easily create a hole in his head. But there was no escape from them. There was only one road out of here, unfortunately the same road would lead him directly to whatever that thing was.

"I'M GOING TO ENJOY MAKING YOU SUFFER!"

There was no escape.

"Why don't you let me go so I can show you my hospitality?" Eclipsa was hissing at them like an angry viper.

" _Your resistance is admirable. It is, truly. But ultimately useless."_

She was trying really hard to find magic, _any_ magic at all. But the air in here was as dry as it was outside. She was unable to conjure even a small spark.

" _Well, this is beginning to get underwhelming. Sad, really. She told us this would be quite a show."_

She?! Are they talking about that witch? SHE LET THEM IN?! She-

THUG

Wait, was that…? She pricked her ears. There was a voice coming from below. It was faint, barely registrable, but it almost sound like… HER! THAT DOES IT!

Eclipsa curled up. Space around her was getting covered by a thin layer of purple haze.

"You thought that you can come to my home, band together with that witch and kidnap me? Ooh, big mistake." She stood up. Her cheek markings were glowing like lights on a christmas tree. "Though I suppose I should thank you for this."

" _What are you doing?"_

"What should I have done the moment I got here: DIP DOWN!" Her distorted voice bounced around the walls. Her body rose above the ground, revealing six arms and moth-like wings. Her eyes were pure dark purple. "BE GONE!" With rapid movement of her arms, she grabbed all the furniture in the room and smelted it around The Visitor. With a single snap of her fingers, the mass exploded and turned into dust. The Visitor was nowhere to be found. "Who's next?!" The remaining Visitors didn't say a word. They just slowly left the room. "That's what I thought. Now…"

Laar's whole life flashed before his eyes.. It was a short, sad and painful movie. But it was still his and he wasn't willing to say goodbye to it. A giant troll was going his way and unless some miracle were to happen, he will end up being its food. He closed his eyes and awaited his fate.

"I should have thought it was you."

Laar opened his eyes and looked up. Eclipsa was standing on top, looking brighter and sharper than ever.

"Stop reading my dream journals." She picked up the open book from the table and closed it. The troll, or whatever it was, disappeared. "It's personal. And I believe this is mine," She bent over to pick up her wand. After a quick inspection, she turned around and started walking away. "Come."

"Where are we going?"

"We are going to find out what happened here."

 **Chapter 5 of The Hidden Truth was written by Terepin and edited by (mostly) Haunted Melon and (partially) Saokpe.**


	6. Timeless, Part 1 - Lost Princess

_Five hundred years ago….._

Princesses of Mewni were always a rambunctious lot, all bumbling around like squirrels who had just eaten too much sugar. Sometimes the castle-maids would find them in the closets playing hide and seek, or in the gardens picking flowers. Sometimes they would be practicing their magic with Glossaryck.

Not this princess however.

Luna, daughter of Arcadia the Bold, was anything but bold. You'd never find her roaming the gardens, exploring dusty corners of the castle, or expecting adventure behind every nook and crany. She didn't need any of that, because all _her_ adventures were happening inside her head. She was a dreamer that only rarely and unwillingly woke up to a grey and boring reality. Her mother had very little understanding for her passion of daydreaming. In fact, no one did. Mostly because she was just like a little mouse- silent and hidden even in plain sight. Her family considered her childhood to be lifeless and boring, but while other kids were making trouble, she found a silent corner in the castle in which she took a journey to a fascinating lands.

Uncertain what to do with her, her parents decided give her a few olden books. They wanted her to become interested in Butterfly's heritage. Or so they hoped. What they really did was give her some new best friends. Lots of them. Suddenly, she didn't spend time wandering through some obscure places. Instead, she took sanctuary in the castle's library. Unaware of the riches this place held, she dipped down to the fascinating events of the past.

One late evening, she was digging through book after book like a Grand Carnivorous Mewnian Worm, until her eyes caught the chapter about one of her predecessors - Skywynne, the Queen of Hours. Luna had never really lived in the present, always imagining what might have been and what could be. But the revelation of Skywynne changed all of that. Instead of imagining the possibilities, she now might actually be able to make them into reality. And so, without even realizing it, her obsession with time began to run deeper and deeper into her consciousness.

Her parents soon realized the grave mistake they had made. While before she was hiding in plain sight, now she was hiding literally - the library became her new home. And they liked that even less. They first started slowly, just taking her away from her books. But her reactions were getting worse all the time. She was simply refusing to leave the library, to leave the books, to leave her own perfect world. However, they didn't account for her hidden affability. You see, when you force an animal into a corner with no place to run, it will fight back. Not Luna. She realized that this situation would require cunning thinking. And so, she played by their rules, did what she was asked for and didn't ask any questions of any kind. She was, finally, the perfect little princess her parents wanted for so long.

Until she reached the age of 14.

The wand was what she needed for her plan. Maybe it should have been obvious for everyone since the moment she took over it - a grandiose piece of jewelry turned into an ordinary gray metallic stick. Perhaps her mother would take some precautions, but Luna's smile took her guard down and she hoped to the three moons that her daughter would get better with the help of Glossaryck. Except he knew from the start that she was no ordinary princess. In fact, he had his doubts if she even was a princess at all. Her connection to magic was laughable and her interest in it outright pathetic. Or so he thought.

When it was apparent that familiar books were no longer safe surroundings, she digged deeper. With the wand finally in her possession, she quickly (and equally insufficiently) learned a pretty simple spell. Simple for a person that actually wanted to learn it, that is. So when she went into the library to create her own personal study area to which no one would have access but her, she almost managed to burn the whole place down. Glossaryck couldn't believe his own eyes.

"What are you trying to accomplish here, Princess?" he asked.

"Nothing that concerns you. Or anyone else for that matter."

"I see. Perhaps I should leave you alone with your wand, yes?"

"That's the first useful thing you've ever said to me."

"Ah. Well, normally, I would. You are to Butterfly family what that bug over there is to Mewni."

"Ew!"

"But you see, the thing is, letting you run around with your… hmm, stick, would be like giving weapons to a toddler."

"Did you just compare me to a toddler?!"

"Maybe, maybe not. I mean, what's certain anymore? Look, Luna, my job is to teach you how to use magic. But seeing as you don't care one bit about it, I won't force you."

"Good."

"With that said however, I do like your mom, so I will take your wand away for the time being…"

"What…?!"

"... And I'll help with this little magic trick of yours." Glossaryck not only restored the burned books and demolished parts of library, he also created a hidden room behind one of the regals. Only he and her could see it. "I believe this is what you wanted, correct?"

"I still don't give a damn about magic."

Glossaryck measured her from top to bottom. "Hmm, indeed, that much is obvious."

"I don't-"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure that's fascinating. The bottom line is I'm keeping the wand for the time being. Have fun with… whatever it is you want to keep doing in there."

"Hmpf!"

At last, she had her own private, _secluded_ space, where she could study whatever she wanted without interruptions. Well, that was the idea anyway. She lived so long with just herself that she'd completely lost connection with the order of the real world. And out there, when a young, beautiful, if somewhat distant and cold princess started to turn into a young woman, that tended to attract boys. And even though she lived most of her time in her own parallel universe, which made the whole teenage romance stuff a heck of a lot difficult, it didn't made it utterly impossible. And where there is possibility, there is also probability.

The name of this probability was Prince Balderen of House Moth. He was the prototype of a typical teenage and royal prince - arrogant, full of himself and not taking "no" for an answer. His parents spoiled him to no end and somehow forgot to mention that people aren't items to collect. So when he first laid his eyes on her, it was as if he found the perfect toy. He was so fascinated by her that he completely ignored the cold, unwelcoming breeze that she left in her wake. From this point forward, all his life goals shrinked into a single point - her.

Coincidentally, Luna too had only one life goal. And she was going hard after it, like a herd of warnicorns, while not giving a crap about anything or anyone. Glossaryck was constantly keeping an eye on her and he noticed a somewhat troubling development - her fascination with time was slowly turning into an obsession. But he also saw something else in her - potential. Potential that'd be shameful to leave to waste. It would be hard, yes. But he was confident that if he could influence her just a little bit, she could turn into one of the greatest Queens of Mewni.

However, this plan would require for her to leave the palace, if only for a short time. He'd need to come up with a plan that'd be interesting enough for her to take interest in. Something equally cunning as her.

It was Autumn and she had just turned 15.

"Luna."

"Oh, it's you again. Did you come to congratulate me to another uselessly spend year like my mother did?"

"I didn't even realize you had a birthday."

"Liar."

"OK, you got me."

"Great. Now leave me alone."

"As you wish. I will just take this wand and…"

The wand. Unfortunately for her, she learned that without it she wouldn't be able to do anything. And she hated that.

"No, wait."

"Yes?"

"Can I have it back?"

"No."

"What do you mean by no? It's mine!"

"Um, no. It belongs to Princesses of Mewni. There isn't one here to speak of and the only thing keeping _you_ here is the royal blood flowing in your veins."

"I _am_ the princess!"

"Is that so? And what is exactly that you did for this kingdom, princess?"

She was angry, but she couldn't give an answer; she didn't have any.

"That's what I thought. But the situation is not hopeless, I can still fix you up."

"There is nothing wrong with me!"

"If you were a regular peasant, I'd agree. But as the only heir to the throne you have to realize that kingdom comes first. You don't have to like it, you just have to accept it. Luckily for you, I came up with a plan to combine what Mewni needs with what you desire."

"Really?"

"Indeed. I'll help you with your studies of Skywynne's magic."

"What's the catch?"

"You'll start studying basic magic, because without it, all that knowledge about time will be useless. And you will take an active post in your role as the future Queen of Mewni."

"But I don't want to become a queen!"

"You don't have much of a choice. So what will it be, princess?"

And so, two trainings took place: one for her and one for Mewni. At first it seemed fine, she was making progress on both fronts and everyone was pretty much happy. Especially Prince Baldaren, who suddenly had the chance to publicly demonstrate his passion for the young Butterfly.

Unfortunately, nothing can last forever, even more so when things finally start to turn for the better. Luna's mother was sick, and Luna was 17. Already, the nobles were yelling at her to find a suitable King, and to take the throne. Luna wanted none of that. If she could, she would spend the rest of her life happily in her library, completely alone.

But that was before the incident happened. Everything changed on that day.

 _24th of Gragnok, 1045 AM (After Mewnipendance)_

Luna stepped across the jewel studded streets of the Capital ignoring the peasants who were staring at her from the sides. She felt satisfied being alone to her own thoughts and ideas. She had just come back from lessons with Glossaryck in the Forest of Certain Death, something about defending yourself from monsters and people trying to take the Butterfly throne; they went about as well as expected. The sun had just begun to dip down over the zenith, Luna's favorite time of day to just relax in her secret chamber in the library, a hidden annex where she would recline to her books and mind. She had almost reached the Castle at this point, entering the Royal Gardens.

A scurrying sound could suddenly be heard nearby; Luna snapped her head back in surprise. A stoutly figure stumbled out of the hedges, small birds and twigs falling off him.

"P-Princess, it's an hon-"

Luna's smile instantly turned into a scowl as she recognized the voice. It belonged to a certain Prince Balderen. He was one of her first suitors, although they started their 'relationship' as stalker and stalked. Balderen would always watch her with these big, gaping eyes. He would hide right outside the castle, always finding ways to find her alone. Luna's father found it romantic, although Luna regarded it as rather creepy. She was about to report him to the Royal Guards, when he officially announced his interest in her. There wasn't much she could do after that. As a double layer of annoyance, his status as the Heir of House Moth, one of the most powerful families in Mewni, had no small part in him being given her parent's blessings.

Luna had immediately rebuffed him of course, and for a while, she thought he had finally given up on her and moved on to another young maiden to harass. Apparently not.

"Please, Princess, hear me out. I know we've been…. difficult in the past but, I'm a changed man! Please! I mean, even your parents like me!" He was shouting with passion, his gloved hands reaching out for her.

Luna sneered in disgust, "Go away _Baldy_!" Balderen was sort of cute, but Luna was always a cold soul. He'd been a thorn in her sides for way too long.

Balderen looked at her for the first time in an angry, but smug expression, "You belong with me, and you'll learn to _love_ me.", He leaped towards her. Luna shrieked, and flung out her wand, ancient, powerful words flying out of her mouth.

Luna closed her eyes, waiting for Balderen to crash on top of her. But nothing happened. Suddenly, she could feel the force of thousands of interwoven strings dancing around her, and then suddenly being snuffed out. A loud, twisting sound could also be heard.

She opened her eyes, to the sight of the young man frozen mid air, his eyes bloodshot, and spit flying out of his mouth. Luna sighed in relief, but fear wasn't far away, as Luna attempted to unfreeze him. It didn't work.

 _What have I done? I've…. I've just frozen Balderen! How did I even do that….. Focus Luna! My parents will be furious!_

Her shock distracted her from the transformation her wand had just gone through. Her once plain, boring wand had turned into a quirky thing, with an hourglass inside the crystal, and burning wings shuttering out of it. She always wanted to master magic of time, she just didn't expect to do it like this. Took her a while to reconcile her thoughts.

Luna glanced back at Balderen. A thin layer of dust had collected on top of him.

 _Or… Will they? What if they're proud of me? Proud of my magic? What if they see that I'm not an amateur, and that I'm actually worth taking seriously?_

Luna gazed up at the sky, and then back at Balderen. She hoised him up on her shoulders, gritting her teeth in disgust. She would carry him to her chamber, and keep him there to rot. Luna wouldn't leave him to starve however, if only because it would stink up her chamber. She would come to feed him food and pour water down his throat for the first few months, but she eventually forgot about him. Weeks later, a frantic Luna raced down to the chamber, but noticed that Balderen hadn't starved. He looked the same as he had the day when he first froze.

When Balderen's family discovered their heirling was missing, they freaked out, knowing he had gone out a few hours after noon. Luna caved, telling her family and his the truth. The Moths were furious, but couldn't risk retaliation. They feared Luna, feared her magic. In fact, most of the maids and janitors of the castle spoke of Luna in hushed up voices, occasionally staring up to see that Luna was staring right back at them.

Because Luna's training was Glossaryck's responsibility, he offered his help to fix the young prince. His family didn't want to do anything with Butterflies anymore, but unfortunately for them, he was the only one who could help him. His attempt to restore him was successful, but the relationship between two families was beyond repairs.

She wouldn't admit it, but she _loved_ the feeling of Skywynne's magic flowing through her hands. She never missed classes with Glossaryck now, always begging to practice more time magic.

However, this obsession would soon lead to tragedy, with the second incident of her life. One that would shake things up even more than the last one.

 **Chapter 5 was written by Haunted Melon, edited by Terepin, and posted late by an Idiot named Saokpe**


	7. Timeless, Part 2 - Scattered

_**Two years later**_

The Princess took a deep breath, and brought out her wand.

 _Woosh_

The magical Book of Spells slid across the floor to her, flipping through its pages. Skywynne's chapter was all the way near the back. Every Queen's chapters were specialized to her personality and wantings. Skywynne's was deep blue, with small azure stones dotting the margins.

Glossaryck slid out of the pages, and droned on, "You serious?"

She didn't like his tone one bit. "Why?"

"Out of all spells written all over bunch of pages and you picked the heavy stuff?"

"I don't have time for basics!"

Glossaryck silently kept looking at her. "You don't have… _time_ for them?"

"Argh! Just teach me already."

"OK."

"That's it? No lectures, no warnings, just OK?"

"Yep."

"Why do I have feeling you're up to something?"

"I sincerely don't know."

"Uhm." Luna looked around, kinda expecting something to happen. But it looked like Glossaryck was being serious for a change. "Alright then; show me."

"Very well. You need to make sure to let go off all doubts and insecurities." 

Luna stamped her feet in impatience. "Okay okay, I got it! Now, what do I say?"

"You start off by placing one foot forward-" Luna paid very close attention to his reluctant mentor, for the first time making sure that she doesn't miss a single word he was throwing at her.

"Good. Now wave your wand in a circular motion and chant out ' _Never visible, forever undetected, in the name of reality itself, I shan't be seen, as time will hide me from reality.'"_

The mentor's words rang around the soon-to-be queen's head; she was giddy, filled with excitement and wonder. Glossaryck continued, "Now, I recommend that you practice your stance before actually performing the spell or-"

He was interrupted when the Princess yelled, "Never visible, forever unseen, by the lord of space and time, I won't be seen, as time will hide me!"

"Luna, stop…. Oh no."

The misinterpretation of the spell echoed around the room. A light ran out of the wand, swallowing everything as far as the eye could see. _Silence_. Luna slowly opened her eyes in enthusiasm. Her expression changed the moment that she could witness what had happened. Birds floated in midair, maidens and servants stuck in place. Despite the horrifying display in front of Glossaryck, his expression was more of, "Oh not this again."

Reality hit Luna like a brick. _"I just froze an entire kingdom!"_ Her mind filled with insecurities. " _Oh boy, what have I done!? That's it - I finally screwed everything up. Like, hehe, BIG time. No, this is fine, everything is absolutely fine… How can it be fine when I FROZE THE ENTIRE KINGDOM?! Whew, just breath, you can fix this, girl, you have this, you, you just, uumm- I just need to..._

She kept pacing herself around the room. _Glossaryck!_ The startled princess runs towards her mentor. The little blue man stood in place, one hand extended forward, as it tried to stop Luna from casting the spell. Luna panted heavily, in a haze of distress she yells to herself. _"Maybe one of Skywynne's books has the answer!"_ She quickly ran over to one of the many books on time magic and manipulation she had "borrowed" from the royal library. In desperation, she swiftly scanned the chapter on time paralysis and chanted the first spell she saw.

" _Unfreeze what time has stopped, unstop what time has frozen!"_ She had worded it correctly, but her nervousness prevented her from getting it right.

When that didn't show the hoped-for results, she moved on to the next spell, falling into the same pitfall as the last two spells. She continued on with many different spells from different books for what seemed like hours.

Tired, anxious, and desperate, Luna revisited the first spell she tried to unfreeze the kingdom with. " _Unfreeze what time has frozen, unstop what time has stopped!"_ After a minute of waiting, the birds started flying again, and the servants began to walk again.

Glossaryck, now unfrozen, looked around the hidden chamber. He stared back at Luna. "Jeez, took you long enough." Luna collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.

"Thanks for the words of confidence." Luna was abruptly interrupted by a loud crashing sound, and many servants yelling and running through the halls. Luna bolted up and ran over to her window. As she stared outside onto the royal garden, she spotted many ancient buildings falling from the sky.

She stared at the destruction in awe. She quickly looked back at Glossaryck who was eating pudding in a care-free manner. Letting out an annoyed sigh, she ran out of her chamber. As she sped through the hall, she was cut off by a pillar that had landed on the castle, cutting off the hallway. Luna, frustrated, ran the opposite direction to find a dead end. She hadn't studied enough spells to be able to surpass these obstacles, and she knew that her time spells were what caused this catastrophe in the first place.

She retreated back to her chamber where Glossaryck was still in, not caring one bit. She ran towards her singular window to witness the horror that she had caused. A purple haired warrior sporting pony tails walked in through a warp. Monsters and beasts were crawling out of it as well. The beasts were mauling civilians and destroying homes. Many lunatics were setting fire to the crops. The royal guards couldn't help either, as the number of creatures were overwhelming. It was a war zone down there, a war zone she had started.

After a bit of bloodshed, another portal opened up. This one emitted a dark aura, a female voice echoed around the kingdom. _"Who dares start a party without their Queen…"_ The booming voice sent chills down Luna's spine. As the Queen started walking out the portal, Luna turned to Glossaryck with a face of distress and trauma. Sobbing and stuttering, she asked, "Glossaryck! What do I do?!" Glossaryck, who had a handful of pudding in his mouth, dismissively answered back, "I don't know, this has never happened before, well… I _knew_ this was going to happen, I just don't know how to fix it, well I do, but I don't think you'd want to know…"

"What!? Of course, I want to know!" She answered back, with fire in her voice.

"The spell is a very advanced spell created by Skywynne, and she has been the only one able to perform it…" Glossaryck's words intrigued Luna, " _A Skywynne spell so hard to perform that she hid it from everyone else? "_

"... It's a time displacement spell, It works similar to an undo button, it will flat out any time distortions or mistakes. That said, the spell does put the caster through immense mental and physical strain, hence why it was kept secret, are you sure you wanna do it?"

Luna looked out her window and then back at Glossaryck. "Yes."

Glossaryck explained to Luna how the spell was performed, and as in much detail as he possibly could.

"Luna, are you ready?"

"Sure."

Luna closed her eyes and prepared herself for the spell. She began what seemed like a ballet routine whilst chanting an ancient language. Her cheek marks began glowing, as she floated up to the roof of her chamber. She slowly began to return back down, finally hitting the floor with a thud.

She opened her eyes slowly, hoping she'd succeeded in her execution. A shrieking, ringing sound tore into her ear. This spell was never meant for a mere mewman. The ringing started to intensify as everything around the shy girl started going in reverse. Voices started to whisper in her ear.

" _Look what you've done"_

" _What a princess you turned out to be"_

A shadowy figure stared at Luna. It felt like staring into a mirror. The figure emitted a feeling of uncertainty over Luna, like she had done something wrong. _She had done something wrong._ The figure kept seeping into her soul as it walked towards the defenseless princess. It was close, _so close,_ the figure's dread mirrored Luna's. The figure disappeared.

Luna curled up into a ball, crying, covering her ears from the ringing, the disappointed voices she had been hiding from her entire life and the figure that seemed to threaten its return. The ringing started to fade, as well as the voices, yet she could feel something calling to her. She cautiously opened her eyes. She saw not her trusty, confortable chamber, but a flashing of colors. What seemed like all of history flashed before her eyes. _Was this the mental strain Glossaryck was talking about?_ It was overwhelming… devastating even. She could see everything, _everything and everywhere,_ past, future, all the possibilities and outcomes - the time itself surrounded her like an ocean. It was too much and she needed it to stop. Her hand starts to fidget as she looks around her environment, and environment that was always changing. She tried to search for a way out of this hell to no avail, but instead is treated by more inner turmoil. She rocks her body around. The shadowy figure welcomed her. But it was no longer just a shadow, Luna could see it's details, it's face, it's form, and its similarities with her. No, they weren't similar, they looked the same, they _were_ the same.

The two figures exchange a stare. One sobbing, the other grinning. A maniacal laugh escaped one of their mouths, Luna's body is hit with a feeling of dread and evil she had never felt before as the clone entered her body. Excruciating pain ran through her body, suffering drowning her heart and thoughts.

She yelled and sobbed, she had tampered with something she shouldn't have and she wanted it to end. Agonizing pain was felt throughout all of time, her yelling being heard through all of the stops in history she's been visiting. She wanted it to stop more than anything.

Her yelling turned into laughter. Her pain into relief. She stood up staring at the flashing clips of history. It all faded away revealing her old, comfy chamber. Glossaryck floated up to face level. "You're welcome." He went floating off to Luna's right right into a stack of empty pudding containers.

Luna stared at him intently, confused and startled. "What… just happened?"

"Uhhm, well, you did the spell…" He stuffed his face in pudding. "... and fixed the thing." He used his spoon to point outside the window, showing a view of a peaceful, happy kingdom.

Luna stared out the window before running towards it. She poked her head out and looked around in disbelief. Her head snapped back at Glossaryck, "I-I did?"

Glossaryck gives her a slow nod "M-hm"

"NO! NO! YOU'RE WRONG!" She roared back, fear and paranoia in filled her eyes.

Glossaryck sighed. "I shouldn't have allowed you to perform Time magic."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! NONE OF IT DOES! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? I KNOW HOW THIS END, I KNOW HOW EVERYTHING ENDS! I'D THINK YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND!" A fiery passion seeping her mouth through every word that escaped it.

"What are you talking about?" He answered back in a concerned tone.

Luna's anger turned to remorse and guilt. She panted heavily, her heavy breathing fading. She shaked her head.

"Yeah… yeah, you're right, we're okay, I-... I'm okay." Luna pushed aside the million questions and thoughts that the _event_ had brought up in her mind. Luna stared at the floor, _I… I have seen it all, everything, I know how this all… ends..._

"LUNA!" Luna's head snaps back at Glossaryck.

"Glossy, I'm tired. I can barely hold my wand. I'm just gonna go to my bed and sleep for an eternity. At least."

There were very few moments when Glossaryck was genuinely surprised. This was one of them. "Glossy…? Say, Luna, can you just pick the book up with Levitation spell?"

"Yeah, sure."

Even more rare were situations when he felt troubled. It almost sounded like as if her answers weren't hers.

Luna tightened her grip on the wand, but before trying out the spell she could see a flashing image. It was an image of what she had seen when she had seen everything. It described a Mewni Castle surrounded by a dark aura, floating. Luna opened her eyes "Levitato!"

A dark aura escaped the wand and consumed her entire room. Luna had re-closed her eyes, trying the hardest she could to focus on the spell.

"That's not good…" Glossaryck mumbled as he stuffs his face with pudding.

Both of them could feel all the objects in the room floating into the sky, including themselves, but only one seemed to care. Luna opened her eyes and let go of her wand, letting the bookshelf, bed, desk, and the other object residing in the room fall the few feets that it had lifted.

"Hmmmm… I think that's enough practice for today."

Luna, exhausted, nodded in agreement. Glossaryck retreated into the spellbook, and Luna into her bed.

It seemed like a normal Mewmam morning. It's been a couple of weeks since the Time Displacement spell. In those weeks, she's been distant, devious, even evil to an extent. Some weird things have been constantly occurring around her. People close to Luna seemed worried for her well-being, but she never seemed to care, at least that didn't change about her.

"Luna-Luuuuna… LUNA!" Glossaryck woke the slumbering princess up.

Luna bolted up her bed, grabbed her wand, and shot a purple blast at nearest wall, a reaction unheard from Luna, or at least the old one.

"Ugh! What do you want?" An annoyed snarl welcomed the cocky mentor.

"Well, there's that." He pointed at a distorted purple portal floating in a corner of her bedroom.

Luna walked over the weird looking object, analysing it like a lion spying on its prey.

"Oh, and all of those." He pointed at a countless of similar looking distortions reigning upon Mewni out Luna's solitary window.

She ran towards her window, staring over the majestic view of the distorted kingdom. A chuckle was heard coming from Luna. Glossaryck raised an eyebrow.

"Well, would you look at that?" Hysterical laughter filled the room. "Didn't think this was going to happen so soon," she kept laughing.

"That doesn't bother you?"

"Hmm? Nah, they're harmless. Well, maybe they'll suck some people, animals and whatnot. But look at them, running around in fear. They're like ants who encountered water."

"You might want to fix all that."

"I will do no such thing! I like it this way. It adds to the scenery, don't you think?"

"No, I don't."

"You're no boss of me!" she snapped back at her mentor.

Glossaryck, without hesitation, motioned his hands towards the bookcase, flinging the princess towards it. The bookshelf split in two, yet Luna wasn't hurt.

The maniacal girl chuckled at Glossaryck, "That was a big mistake…" Luna emerged from the debris, wand in hand, prepared to blast him into the infinity that is time. Before a word could escape her mouth, a bookshelf landed on top of her, but as a precaution, Glossaryck dropped two more.

Glossaryck looked intently at the moving rubble. There's no way that a mewman could still be able to flinch after something like that.

"What are you?"

"Ugh, oooh, that one actually hurt, Glossy…" a sinister voice seeped out of the rubble. "...and here I thought that we were such great friends."

"I don't know you"

"Well, not here you don't." The scree was pushed away and flew in all directions. "But believe me when I tell you that we've had this confrontation before, and you lost it." The creature speaking through Luna's lips was evil and devious. "Don't take this personally, old friend, but you're in my way." She once again took grip of her wand and was about to blow him into smithereens. Glossaryck closed his eyed as he slowly floated down to ground level. Time started to slow down.

"STOPPING TIME WON'T STOP ME FOOOOR EVEEEEEE-"

The blue man gently floated back up to face level and made its way to the paralyzed Luna. He tapped at her forehead. "Luna? Helloooo, Luna? Are you there?

Luna blinked. "Glossaryck? Oh, Glossaryck, please help me, I'm scared, I don't-"

"Calm down. It can't hurt you right now. Ok? Ok. So, do you know what that thing is?"

"I-I think…" Her voice was still shaking. "I think she is me. Other me, from another world. But different. I don't think she's even a person. She almost feels like-"

"Magic?"

"Uhm."

"You saw her during that incident, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you tell me anything?"

"I thought she was only a dream. It was just so surreal, it didn't feel real, I'm sorry!"

"OK, just relax. Can you feel her presence right now?"

"Yes, and she is angry. Very angry! She just wants to cause pain and suffering to all living things!"

"Let me check something." He closed his eyes and opened again. For the first time ever, he felt… remorse.

"What just happened?"

"I- I tried to remove her from your body, but… She's -uh- she's been in there for too long. I can't help you. I'm… I'm sorry." Seeing Glossaryck sad, and doubtful was unnerving by itself.

"I- I'm going to die?" she starts weeping.

"Eventually, yes. But we can't let that happen now. Your consciousness is the only thing preventing her from completely taking over your body."

"Then what can we do? I-I don't want to hurt people! I never wanted to hurt anyone!" Tears were dropping from her eyes. "Glossaryck! I can feel her trying to- Hmpf! IT HURTS!" A black, sticky liquid seeps from her body like sweat.

"There must be something! Let me check the boo-" Book of spells abruptly opened and started to list pages. It abruptly stopped and a new page appeared, filled with incantations. "Umm, okay then, that could work! Luna, listen. Focus on my voice. There is one spell that can fix this. It will, uhm, erase you."

Luna looked at him eyes filled with excruciating pain. "What?"

"Listen, because whatever is inside of you is pure magic, it can't be killed or destroyed. There is only one way to get rid of her - you have to scatter yourself."

"Scatter? Scatter where?"

"Your life force, um, you, would be scattered throughout the entire universe, but you would still be anchored evenly throughout, meaning that if that dark energy ever decided to return, it would be ripped apart by the anchors."

"So… That's how I will end."

"I'm afraid so. And no one here or anywhere else will remember you. Your existence must be wiped out of history."

"My parents…?"

"They will have a daughter and granddaughter - the Butterfly family will continue. But you won't be remembered by anyone but me."

Luna was silently shaking. "At least once they will be proud of me."

He picked the book and showed the page to her. "Read it. Quickly."

She stared out her window one more time and let out a heavy sigh.

" _Never known, never seen, forever not remembered, in the name of space and time, please make me vanish, never to be - AAAAAA!_ She is fighting back! I can't hold her anymore! _"_

"You have to! Everything depends on it. Finish the spell!"

Luna struggle to finish the spell, using the last ounce of energy in her body to do so.

"Luna, do it NOW!"

She took a deep breath. "- _detected!_ " Glossaryck stared at the sobbing Luna. "Well… this is goodbye Glossaryck…" Her sobbing quickly changed into a maniacal laughter. "Isn't it funny that I'm so inept at spell casting that I needed to resort to this so I could axe myself off…" She continued laughing.

"Goodbye, princess… It was an honor."

The once silent princess slowly shattered like cracked glass. Her physique kept shattering more and more until she disappeared into the abyss that was time. The room remained quite.

A couple minutes passed and a young princess, holding the Butterfly family wand ran into the room.

"Glossaryck! Help me make the perfect dress for my wedding with Balderen!"

Glossaryck stood up and bowed at the new princess, "Yes, m'lady."

Glossaryck flew into the sacred tapestry room. He stopped next to Luna's replacement Queen's tapestry. It was a nice picture of her in a ball with the King of Mewni, Balderen. Everything was in order.

"I can hear you know."

" _You can't keep me away forever,"_ told the whispering voice.

"Your empty threats are almost amusing."

" _Someone, somewhere will make mistake and I'll come to finish you."_

"As long as I live that won't happen."

" _You forgot, Glossaryck - I've seen it all. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

He looked down at two ripped pages of the spell book, "So long." Two dark hallways manifested in front of the floating man. He let go of the two pieces and let them float off into the abyss.

 **Chapter 7 of the Hidden Truth was written by Saokpe and edited by Terepin.**


	8. The Hunt

The boy scurried frantically around the floor, knocking over small tables in his panic. It was midnight, the moon shone furiously outside, the stars gleaming bright. But the boy saw none of this. He was focused on one thing and one thing only. To run.

His feet scampered across the floor, left after right. Sweat flicked down his neck as he attempted to escape the terror that was prowling. Searching. Hunting.

He stopped. A dead end it seemed, a tapestry (thankfully a normal, non royal one) covered the wall. A sinister voice could be heard, creeping up on him from behind, threatening to swallow him up.

"Maaaarcoooo, where aaaare youuuu? I just want to playyyyy!"

Marco's face paled. How had everything gone so wrong?

 **16 hours ago**

Star shot up from her bed as she stared up at the bookshelf in front of her, wondering if she could just lie there and die alone. After a few minutes of just sitting there, blank faced, she turned to her alarm clock.

8:00

" _Oh no."_

The frantic Princess ran straight into her wardrobe, hurriedly searching for her clothes. How had nobody woken her up?!

Right as she pulled her stockings up, her door snapped itself open to reveal a startled Queen Moon.

"Star? You're awake?"

Star tried to grin at her mother as she fastened up her boots. "Yes yes yes, oh my gosh, I'm going to be late for-"

She became rigid, her mind working out her situation.

" _Oh. That's right, no school, I'm on Mewni. No training with Glossaryck either, it's a Flacks day."_

Star calmed down considerably, but an aching feeling still shivered down her spine. Why was she so nervous, like everything was going to explode?

Her mother eyed her candidly, "Well, while you're here, I was going to wake you up for breakfast, but I suppose you've done that yourself."

Star groaned as she pulled herself out the door, intent on getting to the royal dining room before her mom. What a start to a day.

Star and her mother made their way over to a large rectangular table, decorated in an elegant buffet of Mewnian cuisine, where the rest of the castle's inhabitants waited.

Moon and River's seat were at the very front, Marco sat to River's right, and Janna two seats from Moon. Star meticulously sat down next to Marco, her brain pounding her with incessant headaches. It was so bad in fact, that Star almost didn't notice Marco's instant recoil as Star sat next to him, like someone placed a viper on his nose. Almost. Since their adventure in the tapestry room, both had been a bit distant, although not by choice.

"Oh- ugh- Hi Star." The welcome rolled out of his tongue like sandpaper. The boy didn't expect Star to sit next to him, although he really should have, as they were supposed to be 'best friends. Star stared at Marco for what was really seconds, but felt like hours.

"Hi there Marco." She emoted with an artificial excitement in her voice. Sweat kept running down Marco's face. This wasn't the first time they'd eaten next to each other but it never the less felt like a first.

The countless servants walked up and down the hallway, serving each diner a beautiful looking meal (mostly corn related). Marco always asked for a normal Earth breakfast in fear of not liking mewnian food, and therefore offending his hosts. Janna, on the other hand, would always ask for something new, really enjoying her stay in the foreign kingdom. The Royal Family, of course, would pick their favorite corn dishes.

"B-bon Appetit…" Marco awkwardly stuttered. Everyone, who already had their mouths full, mumbled in response. "Right…"

The boy took a bite of the average looking meal he was given. The room went relatively silent.

A couple minutes passed. Marco, trying to focus on his food and only his food, noticed Star on the corner of his eye. He looked down, back at his food, before snapping back to his side to make sure if she was still staring. She was. He glanced up at Janna for help. Janna, who had finished her meal, was staring at the both of them with awe.

"So, Star." Janna catches her attention. The Princess looked over at Janna, with a dead look in her eyes. "Isn't Marco looking great this morning?" A chuckle escaped her mouth as she anticipated the mayhem she hoped to cause. A pink tint painted her face. Her eyes shifted around the room before resting at Marco, who was covering his face with his hands.

"Uhh - Well…. Pfft, I mean, he looks fine for just getting out of bed…" Star flustered, her arms flailing with sweat. "I guess!" Forced laughter echoed around the room as Star winced at her response. Marco, trying his hardest to not be seen, let out an embarrassed moan.

"I mean, he's looking pretty handsome today, don't you think?" Janna teased back. Marco head snapped upward to face Janna. He stared at her in pure distress and then over at Star in the same way. Star was burning red, she didn't know how to answer to that…. That question! Her eyes wandered around the room, her head as well. Janna still stared silently with a cocky smirk plastered on her face. Marco was waiting to see Star's response, staring at her with a face of pure distress and embarrassment.

"Uhm - uhhh…" The flustered princess was interrupted by her Mother, "Let them eat in peace Janna."

Star and Marco let out a sigh of relief, while Janna let out one of disappointment. "Ugh, fine."

"Alright then…" River stood up as he took hold of all of the leftovers scattered around the table. "I think we're done with breakfast."

"Thank Mewni!"

"Gracia a dios!" Star and Marco said in unison as they stood up from their seats. Everyone stalked away, Star and Marco hanging by each other, although not as close as they were before.

The two had made it all the way outside to the Royal Gardens. A long time ago, the Gardens were huge and imposing, filled with an expansive hedge maze for aristocrats to play around in. After the War with Toffee, the Gardens became much smaller, the young Queen Moon seeing them as 'an unnecessary accessory'.

Star sat down in a pile of leaves, scrunching about in a most unladylike fashion. Marco remained standing, awkwardly picking his thumbs.

The Princess finally broke the silence that had been following them around like a nasty storm, "Sorry about what Janna said… I know you don't feel the same way I do - I mean, ugh….. It must have been… Hard?" The Princess fidgeted with her dress. _"Ugh. What am I saying?"_

Marco coughed, "Oh! Yeah…."

She sighed, her palm stroking her heart. She gulped, a headache pulsing through her body. Everything was spinning…..

"Star? You okay?" Marco shook Star's shoulders, leaning in to see her face.

Suddenly, Star whisked around tackled Marco, wincing at her disordered mind. "Ugh… Star, what was that for?'

"Er….. Um, I don't know? I don't feel so good…. Can you help me?", Star said the last question with a whimsical tone, her voice growing in emotion.

"Sure….?" Marco stared at her, his mind buzzing with questions. All were silenced as Star's face slowly curved into a smile for the first time in the day. Unfortunately, the full front of smile was on Marco, who was starting to get nervous, "Uh…. Star, are you okay?"

"I dunno, Marco." Star sighed.

Marco took a grip on the vulnerable looking princess's hand. He pulled upwards, trying to get Star back on her feet. A harsh thug is heard as the two teens trip over themselves. Star laid over the Latino's chest, and Marco over the gushing green grass. They were close, couple inches away. They could feel each other's breath. Both were burning red and avoided eye contact, one with a frown and the other with a dopey smile.

"C-can you, uhm... get off of – on top of me?" He mumbled under his breath. Although the boy's words could barely be considered a whisper, their proximity made sure that Star could hear every awkward mumble.

She catches his eyes. A sinister looking smirk stretched across her face.

"I don't know, can I?" An uncharacteristically sarcastic tone rang through Marco's ears.

 _"Come on Star, not now!"_

"I-I, er, S-Star, I-I don't w-want to- p-please not now..." He whispered, yet Star ignored his plea.

Star pulled herself closer. Fear ran down Marco's spine.

"STAR!" The yell scared off the enthusiastic girl.

Marco lifted himself up from the rough terrain, brushing off dirt and grass from his back. He made his way back to a small hill of leaves and sat down.

Star stares at Marco. He was still blushing, he seemed to have wanted to be alone but Star didn't seem to get that.

After a couple of seconds of staring, she made her way next to him.

Star crouched pretty close next to Marco. Both teens shared a silence. Marco peeked out of his shell of shame towards Star who was chuckling to herself.

"I'm sorry Marco." The chuckle slowly turned into a small burst of laughter, "I guess, I always run from my problems, decided that I would chase it for once."

"I-It's- it's okay, just uhmm, just don't do that again, y'know me and uhmm, you know..." The boy continued, his statements turning the princess's laugh, into a frown.

 _"Jackie! I know you and Jackie are... together."_ She stared at Marco who was still awkwardly rambling to himself.

She groaned, frustration blinding her judgment.

 _"I-I mean, I shouldn't... I know I shouldn't."_ Her frowns turned into blinding anger and frustration.

Star grabbed Marco's hoodie by the neck. The boy was yanked towards Star, silencing his mumbles in an instant. The millions of questions and thoughts that he'd been hiding since that day with the tapestries came flooding back.

 _"Star, what are you doing! Why are you doing this to me! WHY STAR!"_ A brush of anger painted over Marco, as he flung over to the princess. " _I'm happy, DAMMIT! I-I don't need this!"_ Marco's thoughts turned into unintelligible ramblings. " _Estoy feliz, estoy feliz, I'm happy... I'M HAPPY! I have Jackie, Star, she knows that, she does."_

A cold feeling sank his heart. He snapped his eyes open. In front of him, he could see the silhouette of his best friend's face pressed against his. They were centimeters away, their lips a nudge away from a kiss, they're cold breaths bouncing off each other,[PH3] locked in a dance of icy cold regret and burning passion. Marco couldn't help but feel enthralled. The passion he felt emitted his body like the shining sun, and Star couldn't help but notice. He pushed the passion of the proximity aside, leaving nothing but regret to fill the interaction. Star didn't seem to mind, she didn't think her friend was going to stay this long, although he was most likely paralyzed in shock. Star gripped harder at the boy's collar, letting the primal instinct of the event take over her train of thought.

Marco snapped back from his state of shock. He pats his chest in an attempt to find the rebellious hand tugging at his collar. After a second of the teens being paralyzed in place, Marco finds Star's hand, the once strong grip fizzled out at the boy's touch, letting Marco push it away.

Marco places both of his arms to Star's shoulders. His arm tenses up, a gulp passes through his throat as he opens his eyes to look at Star's face.

The contact filled Star's mind with hope, hope that it could happen. She didn't ignore the breath of passion that left her best friends mouth earlier. Her cheek marks glowed a dark red color, her heart beat at what seemed like a thousand beats per seconds as the boy closes his eyes once more.

Their proximity is made larger by a violent shove.

Star fell towards the collection of leaves they were under. After a second of silence. Star gazed over at Marco. His arms extended forward, his face one of guilt.

Both teens stared intently at each other. Marco had sweat running down his face, and a look of pure disdain at Star. He was yelling at her, he knew that much, but the exact words were leaving his memory quickly.

He was still in shock, surprised that the interaction even happened. He knew, that Star knew that what she did wasn't right, but he also knew that it wasn't his heart that pushed her away. A rush of confusing emotions clouded his mind. The stare between the two had lasted a few seconds at this point. He stood up from the cushion of leaves, put his hoodie over his head, and briskly ran off.

He thought he could hear some faint yelling coming from Star, but he wasn't in a state to talk to her. " _She should know this... why would she do something so stupid!"_

 **A couple hours later**

After spending all day trying to avoid Star, Marco made his way to his room. By now, the sun was about to fall over the zenith. Noon was just over, but Marco already felt tired enough to sleep.

 _9:00 PM_

Star pranced onto her bed, growing to herself about how much of an idiot she was. Unfortunately, all she could think about now was her growing headaches.

She stared up at the ceiling of her room, and then to her window. It was almost night time.

"Welp." She muttered, pulling her pillow on her head. "I guess I'll apologize tomorrow."

Her headache began to grow, and with it a strange fever. Everything was going dark...

Her eyes shot up, bursting with black light, deformed into hearts. Huge, blackened wings sprouted from her backside, extra limbs growing in toe. It was complete.

She was going to get that kiss.

 **Midnight**

Marco Diaz thrashed around in his bed, sleepless, his mind still contemplating Star. After a few minutes of self-recollection, he finally decided he would apologize. "I don't deserve a friend like Star..." He mumbled as he got out of bed.

As soon as he made his way to Star's room, he could see that something was off. A bright purple serenade cascaded from her door, and familiar vines sprouted from the gaps. Marco opened the door cautiously.

"S-Star? Are you okay in-"

Marco flinched in recoil. Before him was a very familiar beast. In a way, it was strangely beautiful, with purple hair splayed all over, and bright violet hearts for eyes. She stared at him with what one could only describe as... Longing?

Marco spoke cautiously. "Star... You're, you're not going to do this, right?"

In response, he got a web flung onto his face, all black and goopy. At that moment, both Star and Marco ran out the door, although for obviously different reasons.

The boy scurried frantically around the floor, knocking over small tables in his panic. It was midnight, the moon shone furiously outside, the stars gleaming bright. But the boy saw none of this. He was focused on one thing and one thing only. To run.

His feet scampered across the floor, left after right. Sweat flicked down his neck as he attempted to escape the terror that was prowling. Searching. Hunting.

He stopped. A dead end it seemed, a tapestry (thankfully a normal, non royal one) covered the wall. A sinister voice could be heard, creeping up on him from behind, threatening to swallow him up.

"Maaaarcoooo, where aaaare youuuu? I just want to playyyyy!"

Marco's face paled. How had everything gone so wrong?

Marco sees an opening to escapes to his right, and takes swift advantage of it.

The boy slammed opens two large doors, hitting two non-attendant guards. "Everyone run, crazy bug princess on the loose!" He yelled, sliding down the hallways. No one seemed to hear him. The flying princess crashed into several objects in an attempt to stable her flight. As he kept running through the never-ending hallways, he was pulled into a room by Janna. Star flew past them.

"What's going on?" Janna asked in a curious tone.

"Well, IwaswithStarandthenshedidn'tfeelwellandso-" He rambled

"Calm down Diaz!" She slapped him back to reality.

"Right...right..." He calmed his agitated rambling. "You know when Star wrecked the whole school?"

Janna nodded.

"Well, it's happening again." He pointed down a hallway leading to the kitchen, where Star was seen flying through, causing havoc to the many chefs.

Janna looked over, "Oh..." Janna stared at her flying friend, "… Well, how did you stop it last time?"

"I just waited it out."

"Okay then, I guess we'll just wait it out."

"I'd rather not hole up in the castle while Star's just rampaging about!" Marco said frustrated. "Why is she still looking for me?! Last time she would take what she could get!" He snapped back, kind of regretting how his statement made his best friend look.

Janna looked over at Marco, eyebrow raised, "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Janna once more looked over at the door, Star hadn't found them yet, she was still lost in the maze that was the castle's hallways. It seemed like the time on Earth did a number on her memory. Janna looked back at Marco who was now curled up in a corner.

"No, I don't." He whispered to himself.

Janna had an all too familiar smirk plastered on her face. She dropped to the floor about a foot in front of Marco.

"Why don't we use this time for some therapy?" She suggested.

"Therapy?" The Hispanic boy looked up with confusion.

"Yeah therapy! Y'know, you therapy, I therapy, we all therapy." Janna responded in a cocky tone. Marco, now even more confused, went to ask her again but was cut off.

"Okay, let's get started." She began, "First question, how does this make you feel?"

Marco looked out at the hallway, making sure that the flying bug goddess wasn't going to swoop him up. He looked back at Janna, "Umm, well, scared for my life, I guess, what are you trying to do with this?"

"Eh. Eh. Eh. I'm the one asking the questions here." She chuckled to herself.

Marco let out an annoyed sigh.

"Okay then, what did you and Star do throughout the day?" Janna responded.

"Uhm, well after the stunt you pulled at breakfast, we-we went outside, and, uhmm, talked, pretty uneventful really." He nervously stuttered.

"Mm-hm." She sarcastically hummed. "Well, that's not what I saw."

"What do you mean, "you saw"!?" He yelled in a scared tone.

She laughed to herself, "What did I say about questions?". She continued to chuckle at the distraught Marco.

"Well, well, well, this has taken an interesting turn of events, this therapy session." She teased in her signature cocky nature.

Marco stared intently. "What I saw, was a bit more, how do I say this, intimate." She gazed up at Marco. "Maybe these picture will remind you." She reached for her pocket, bursts of strangely cold laughter interrupting the moment. The light of the screen hit Marco hard. It showed a distant photo of what looked like Star and Marco kissing, Marco's arms resting on her shoulder.

"WHAT THE...!?" A nervous chill went down his spine. "It-it's not what it looks like!"

She chuckled to herself, "That's the beauty of it, it doesn't have to be what it seems, cause what it looks like is what matters." The girl's words pierced his ears fiercely, she was right, it didn't matter what actually happened.

"Now, you explain to me what's happening in this here photo, or you'll have to explain it to your dear girlfriend." She made a threatening motion over the phone, threatening to push the button.

"Fine, fine! Just drop the phone, okay?" He yelled back involuntarily.

Janna, an evil smirk still stretched along her face, lifted up her arms, letting the phone drop onto the floor.

Marco sighed in relief, resting his hands on the wall.

"Me and, well, me and Star didn't- we didn't kiss, okay..." Janna nodded in anticipation, "We, okay so Star grabbed me by the collar and pulled me in, and well, I mean, I guess she probably wanted to kiss me." He tried as hard as he could to not make eye contact.

"Maybe?! You two were so close that it looked like you WERE kissing!" She nagged at the embarrassed Marco.

"I get it Janna! Point is that I didn't kiss her, I was pushing her away!" He snapped back

The ruckus Star was making outside filled the room as Marco kept silent as Janna chuckled to herself.

"Ugh... Janna, should I... should I still tell Jackie what happened? That's what a good boyfriend would do, right?"

Janna glared at him with surprisingly hostile eyes, "Sure. Do whatever you want, not that I would be any help."

Before Marco could question her, he heard a booming sound erupt into the room. The wall Marco rested on combusted as both of the human teens were knocked away.

Star had found them, or him to be more exact.

At the same time, another pair of yells could be heard.

"MARCO! JANNA!"

It was the Queen!

"Are we having a party I didn't know about?"

And River.

Star smiled at Marco with a carnivorous malice. But before she could do anything, Queen Moon jumped into the scene. She pushed Star back with one magic blast, and rushed to evacuate the frightened teens.

"Marco!" The Queen shouted, locking themselves into the Med Bay. "What. Is. Happening? The Servants ran into my bedroom and told me that you told everyone that Star's going through Mewberty again."

Marco looked on in fear, "Uh… I don't know! It just sort of happened!" 

Moon sighed, tapping her feet to the ground, "Well….. We'll have to restrain her before we can do anything. Guards!"

A multitude of soldiers flooded the halls, attempting to surround Star. But a dark purple light began to emanate from the Princess. A giant explosion destroyed the desolate room.

Star floated around the rubble in an attempt to find Marco; after a couple minutes of looking she gave up and moved on to another room. After Star was surely gone, the King, Queen, and the two teens reappeared. Moon, who had her arms extended to the sides, collapsed in a fit of panting and sweat. River kneeled down next to her and patted her on the back, "Nice obscuring spell, dear." Moon quickly nodded in response.

After a couple of seconds of composing herself, Moon stood back up.

"Okay, so Mewberty relapses are normally a symptom of a disease, it's too early to say which, but it isn't too late to cure it." The Queen groaned, "Ugh! The remedy! I don't know the ingredients! It said it in the book… the now destroyed book… It involved corn…...and some…..maybe some of….no that's not right…."

She continued to mumble to herself, getting more agitated by the second. After a few moments, River stepped up next to her, "Calm down now, dear, here maybe this piece of corn will ease your sorrow." River pulled out a corncob that he seemed to be saving in his pocket.

"Uhmm, thank you River…" Moon seemed calmer, or at least less stressed.

Janna walked over to the Queen and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hmm, oh, Janna, what is it?" Moon asked in a relatively gentle tone.

An all too familiar grin welcomed the queen. "Just thought that this might be a valuable asset to fixing this situation."

Marco saw from where he was standing. Janna was handing Moon the cellphone she had dropped earlier. _"She salvaged that from the rubble? She must really love that phone..."_ He thought. The rubble of the scenery stabbed at his feet. _"Oh, I wonder what she's showing them…"_ After a second or two, the thought popped to his head, Moon looked over at the earthling visitor with spiteful eyes. "OH NO!"

Marco cowered in his feet as the Queen of Mewni walked over to him with an aggressive clutch on Janna's phone. Janna stifled a grin as Moon stretched her arm forward, giving Marco a suspicious face.

"Care to explain this to me?" The Queen's voice was surprisingly calm. But it was the kind of calm that occurred before a storm. Marco was trying his best to keep his composure.

"It's not what it looks like." He emulated a calm expression although he couldn't be more embarrassed or scared.

"Really? Well then explain to me, how does it look like?" Moon responded unexpectedly furious.

"We were, uhm, talking." He tried to smile, but it came out crooked.

"Do you take me for a fool?!" Moon's calmness was gone.

Marco originally wanted to respond, but he decided to remain silent; no imaginable answer could possibly ease the situation. He was standing against an enraged mother which thought her daughter needs protecting. And there is no greater force in the whole universe which could stand against that and survive.

Two voices argued inside his head. One spoke from the heart, the other from the mind, but damned was Marco if he could tell them apart.

' _That kiss, I wish it would have never happened!'_ One began, its voice echoing around his head the loudest.

' _No you don't…'_ a voice answered back. ' _Don't lie to yourself, you felt it and she knows you felt it…_ " Marco tried the hardest to shake off these irrational words out of his head to no avail. _'That proximity, it made you feel something, you saw it didn't you, how you saw her, as more…'_

' _STOP!'_ An angry voice answered back. _'None of this would have happened if this -if she hadn't been so STUPID!'_

' _WHAT DOES SHE EVEN SEE IN ME!'_

Both voices fizzled out as Marco focused once more on the situation on hand.

The room stayed silent.

Seeing Marco's struggle to answer, Moon let out a heavy sigh. "Well, it's not like something inappropriate has happened, right Marco?" She started walking off but momentarily looked back at Marco.

He quickly nodded with his head as a sign of agreement.

She scanned back at the part of the castle still intact. Expertly, she spotted the flying Star, still looking for her earthling prey. "So it's obvious that this relapse isn't part of a disease, but instead some kind of emotional stress…"

Everyone in the room impaled him with a suspicious stare. Except for Janna; she was having a blast.

"What? I pushed her away! I didn't want- It was sudden- I didn't mean-" The boy kept stuttering one sentence after another.

"Calm down boy." River patted Marco on his shoulder. "I understand you: You were living together for almost a year, fought monsters, had adventures… So you grew closer. I mean, if it was me and Moon, I know I would," he smiled.

"River!" Moon facepalmed.

"But we will talk about this later, my boy."

Marco was so nervous he wasn't able to respond with anything.

"So we need to think of a plan." Moon continued. "Perhaps…. There is a way to help Star. If you go to her and…. Well, 'Give her what she wants', we might be able to get her back to normal."

Marco froze, words about to come out of his mouth. "Me? Wha-Why, I mean, I know why… but you guys know, I-I can't."

"Look Marco." The Queen was visibly annoyed, "We don't have many options here."

"B-But..." Marco was stalling, she knew that he didn't have any other choice...

"She won't stop otherwise, Marco. That is not the Star we know, it's just... basic impulses. You can't reason with it, you can't talk to it."

"B-But that would..."

…and he didn't mind.

"Indeed, it would." It was apparent that Moon wasn't exactly thrilled about this idea either.

"Well _at the very least_ , be honest with her, for once!" Janna snapped, her feet stamping on the floor.

"Uh oh," River grumbled, realizing what was happening. "Marco has to kiiiiiss her, ho ho ho, didn't get that at first.

Moon let out a short sigh. "We don't have a choice, Marco."

Marco stared at the floor, "I know…"

" _God dammit… what am I doing, am I really doing this…"_

A pale blue barrier was showing around them, being warped and twisted by magic.

"My obscuring spell…." Moon mused, "It shouldn't be visible…. Unless…."

There she was - Marco's eyes darted to the right, where Star was pounding on the barrier, viciously trying to tear it apart.

"Star!" Marco cried, pointing at her shape. "There, she's there!" 

As Moon started to freak out and repaired her barrier, Marco started contemplating what Janna had said. _"Be honest with her"._ Really?! It had been _Star_ who hadn't been honest with _him_ , not the other way around. Until apparently very recently, he had been very clear with his emotions.

" _I love Jackie."_

" _End of picture."_

Except…. Now he couldn't. If he wanted to help Star, at least.

But he couldn't shake the feeling, the feeling of excitement at the idea of what was going to happen…

Star retreated back to think up some kind of plan to get inside. The thought process was quickly proven to be for naught.

Marco stepped calmly outside the barrier and stood in the crumbled hallway. Instantly, Star flung her head to his direction, looking pleased, and also somewhat confused. Star raced towards him.

As she raced through the clustered halls, Marco's arms sprung open, leading Star into a trap she was okay with being trapped in. Marco smothered her in his arms. She was startled, but also grinning, pulling Marco closer into the embrace.

"You know Star, you probably won't remember this…you might think this is all a dream... which is a bit cruel…" Marco looked down at the pleased princess. "... And I can't assure my safety if this doesn't work or that we can stay friends… God I hope you don't remember any of this…" he chuckled to himself. "... So much for being the safe kid, right Star?"

Star shuffled her way to a standing position, making sure to not break off from the embrace. "Maaaarcooooooo…" she whispered.

"Yes Star?" Marco calmly responded. He had accepted his fate, a fate that he couldn't say with one hundred percent confidence he disliked. Star wrapped her many arms around the boy, and encased him in many heart pellets.

"Maaaaarcoooooo…" A rebellious hand of hers tucked on Marco's collar.

Marco was lurked forward. Now with his head placed slightly below Star's, he mumbled in a playful, even teasing tone. "That's what I thought…"

Marco couldn't move his arms or legs, he was a toy for Star to play with. Marco still trusted his friend, trusted her enough to not end up killing him at least. He couldn't deny the strength difference between them as Star lifted his neck back to eye level in what felt like an instance.

" _Jesus Christ… Why did I agree to this…"_

Star pulled herself towards him, she stopped centimeters away from his lips. She scanned Marco's face. He looked right into Star's eyes in a semi annoyed manner, but he couldn't help but be bright red.

Marco let out a relatively desolate sigh, his hot breath showering Star's face.

"I find it worrying that this isn't an unusual sight…" Marco complained.

It seemed like he was going to continue his sentiments, but was cut short by a swift push from Star. Their lips touched.

Marco first looked in shock, eyes wide open staring at the bug princess in distress and disgust. But after a second or two an air of comfort set in. He cautiously closed his eyes waiting for the moment to pass.

His heart kept beating faster and faster. A familiar feeling of dread and uncertainty fell over the boy. It was painful being this close to her, it was painful not finding the will to push her away or retreat, of not finding it hard to enjoy. Star pulled Marco closer. Marco's heart beat the hardest it ever had… and that was scary. He'd never been this vulnerable even when he was with his girlfriend, but he couldn't think of her in this moment.

" _Oh god, look what I've done..."_ Marco thought to himself. " _How could I let this happen?"_

" _Don't pretend like you didn't want this to happen Diaz!"_ A voice yelled inside his head.

" _Wh-what? No! I'm doing this to help Star!" Another responded._

" _Really now? Is that the same reason you abandoned your girlfriend to stay with Star!?"_

" _Jackie? I didn't abandon Jackie!... I just- I, uhm, I just…"_

" _Keep telling yourself that…"_

Star's cheek marks glowed as bright as the sun.

After a sudden gasp from Star, Marco could feel a convulsion from her. She crumbled to the floor, her body shuddering with a blinding golden light. At last, her true Butterfly Form could be seen, the same Marco had gazed upon before.

The goddess looking creature refused to let go of the boy until she left, and leave she did.

As her extra limbs finally retreated back, she fell down, a crumpled rag doll on the ceramic of the castle. Marco went swiftly to check on her, but Moon got to her first.

"She's fine." The Queen clarified. "Just sleeping."

"Let's hope this won't happen again. With the Silver Bell Ball around the corner we can't afford another incident. Marco, whatever that you have between you two, resolve it." Moon sighed, kicking a loose pebble. "Solaria, this Silver Bell Ball is going to be the death of me." Janna glanced over at Marco, and so did Moon, oddly. Marco stood flustered, his body trembling. After a couple of seconds of standing in place, thinking, he put one foot over the other. He slowly walked pass Moon and Janna.

"I-I'm… uhm, I'm sorry, I-I… am… going...to...my...room." Marco stuttered as he walked away from what he saw as a crime scene.

As he slowly stepped away from sight Janna yelled over, "Hey! Come and help me clean this mess! Diaz? DIAZ!" Moon placed her hand over the girl's shoulder.

"Let him be Janna, he's been through enough," Moon walked towards River who had a hold of the collapsed Star. "Star will help you when she wakes up."

"Everyone! Continue on your Silver Bell Ball preparations! Any collateral damage will be dealt with and is not something that needs to be made known to the public!" Moon ordered the royal servants as they scattered like ants in a disrupted ant hill.

" _The Silver Bell Ball… ugh…"_ Marco laid over his bed, distraught. " _I'm sure no one will mention what happened today to Star…"_ Marco spiked up from his bed to the sight of his darkened room.

" _I might as well start picking out the suit…"_

 **Chapter 8 of The Hidden Truth was written by Saokpe and Haunted Melon; edited by Haunted Melon and Terepin**


	9. The Scribe

"Where are we going, mistress?"

"To the crypt."

"To the… crypt." Laar looked around and almost dared to yell _"WE ARE IN SPOOKY CAVERNS FILLED WITH CREEPY BOOKS, WHY WOULD YOU NEED A CRYPT IN HERE?!"_ , but he kept his mouth shut. After all he went through, having Eclipsa being pissed at him was at the bottom of his to-do list.

His presence in this forsaken place wasn't even on that list. Alas, the choice of picking the destination was never his, otherwise he'd be long gone not only from here, but also from Mewni, from _her_. He never liked Eclipsa, never trusted her, or her intentions. With all the power she possessed, she could be done with everything and everyone in a matter of days, hours even. But for some reason she always kept dancing around the possibility to rule the Mewni and even further beyond, _way_ further. Then again, he never really grasped the concept of love.

"We're here."

He snapped out of his thoughts and gazed at front of him. He didn't think it was possible for all the creepiness of this place to exist, but somehow this monstrous building was doing exactly that - a hell inside the hell. And they needed to get inside of that thing.

"W-What's inside?"

"Books."

He rolled his eyes. More books in more cramped space.

It was simply astonishing. Not the building itself; the monstrosity looked like it was created by an architect with some weird demons and severe digestive issues. No, the astonishing aspect of this creation was how anyone could conceive of such a thing, even as a thought. As was Laar trying to comprehend it, he looked back and realized how deeply wrong he was to criticize this lovely library. Because compared to this disgusting thing, it was a neat and comfy place where elderly people came to discuss their grandchildren.

Of course, Eclipsa being… well, Eclipsa, she walked inside with a grace of a person that just strolled out of a department store. But the moment Laar stepped his foot inside, his brain started to twist itself in a fruitless attempt to comprehend what his eyes were seeing.

While on the outside, the crypt looked truly ugly, the architecture inside it was beyond comprehension. And unfortunately for Laar, not in the cool sense of the word. It was wild, a violent mixture of incomprehensible shapes and indescribable colors, mixed together in a way that shouldn't even be possible. Apparently, physical laws never really took any interest in this place and it was aparent.

"Can… I… leave?!" Every word that left his mouth was filled with the pain of his guts trying to escape his body in different directions. While he was a monster, he was one more by his appearance rather than his desire to conquer living beings and eat them.

Eclipsa just motioned her hand, without even bothering to check up on him. But he didn't care, because with his sheer will power, he managed to drag himself out to the welcoming aura of the old, dusty, and musty library.

While silently moving through narrow corridors of the crypt, Eclipsa couldn't help but feel a sense of belonging. As if some invisible force was welcoming in its hallways. This feeling was getting more intense with every step towards its center, where she hoped, would be a book containing the history of the family she had decided to join over 300 years ago. Those years were a gap that she wanted to fill with information.

But when she reached the center, nothing was there. "Wha…? No. NO!" The place wasn't completely empty, as there was small piece of rugged paper on a podium. A note: _Dear love, after what happened we couldn't just stay here. We moved on. If you'll ever read this, I'll hope you'll do the same._

As she was holding it, her hand started to shake. Only a little at first, but all the anger that was accumulating ever since she left the caves had to go. In what could be described only as madness, she started to randomly search the room. As her breathing was getting heavier, the wand was responding to all her rage that was flowing inside her body. The purple glow that started emitting from it got really dark, almost turning to pitch black.

Eclipsa let go.

Laar was silently sitting on the ground. Out of boredom, he started to count books in a nearby shelf. But that got boring too, so instead he started to imagine how he could make Eclipsa suffer, if he ever had the power do it. He was already thinking about the 96th way, when a tremor went through the ground. He swiftly jumped back to his legs, just in time to notice the flying crypt's roof falling right down on him. He jumped away between two shelves at the last second.

When the dust settled down, he saw her. Or more precisely, a glowing figure at the crypt's entrance. And it was staring right at him. Laar didn't feel very secure at that moment, although he didn't know why she would go after him. But it didn't really matter, because back in his brain he just realized he'd picked the worst possible place to hide; there was only a wall behind his back. He still might want to try to run away, sure, but after all the trouble he went with Eclipsa, he just couldn't care less.

And so he patiently waited, as the figure was silently reaching his position. It would be a lie to tell that he wasn't scared. In fact, she was so close that he literally froze with fear. Unable to do anything with his situation, he accepted his fate, whatever it might hold. As it turned out, it wasn't immediate death. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was nice to know he would find out while not dying.

"Did you know?"

Though, after hearing her voice, that chance shrunk down.

"W-What?" His voice was cracking from paralyzing fear.

She came closer. "Did. You. Know?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." He really didn't, but his shaky voice was giving the impression that it was hiding something.

"LIAR!" Eclipsa clenched his throat and lifted him into the air. "YOU ARE ALWAYS LYING!"

"I assure-.. you, milady,-... that I'm utterly clueless-... about most things."

"I find it hard to believe it when you refused to go inside with me."

"That place made me sick! UGH~ It had nothing to do with whatever you found there."

"That's the thing, I DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING! YOU TOOK IT AWAY!"

"I did no such thing! And even if I did, why would I still be waiting for you here?!"

"Don't try to deceive me! YOU HAVE THE BOOK!"

"I CAN'T EVEN READ!" The remaining air in his lungs was depleting. "Please, I don't know anything about any book. I even opened your dream journal without knowing what it was, remember?" Life in his eyes was slowly going away. "I'm too stupid to steal _anything_ from you."

And this was true. He even brought back her wand, even though he could just have run away. This sudden realization made Eclipsa calmer.

"Please, I- I don't want to die."

She loosened her grip around Laar's neck and slowly put him back down. He was desperately gasping for fresh air. The darkness that was surrounding her was subsiding.

"I… am sorry." Now that was something he never heard from her, but unfortunately he was too busy with maintaining his breathing, so he didn't catch it.

She sat down on the rubble, with her wand in her hand. For the first time in a long, long while, she allowed herself to feel pain, remorse, regrets, and all those uncomfortable emotions that she had decided to block out because they were holding her back from reaching her full potential. As a result, the wand started to slowly wither. The human part of her was reasserting itself.

"I have nothing. I am alone."

After Laar finally managed to ease up his breathing, he saw Eclipsa sitting on a broken rock. A while ago she looked like a rampaging monster, but now she looked… well, broken.

"Milady?"

Still scared, he carefully came closer. To his relief, she didn't try to smite him. In fact, she didn't do or say anything at all. She was just sitting there, motionless and… lifeless? He dared to touch her dress and it felt almost like dirt. The wand wasn't looking any better.

"My queen…" Laar wasn't exactly sure what to do. "My queen, what about your daughter?" The last time he had asked about her, she had gotten so mad that she blasted his arm off. In this case, he couldn't think of anything else what could get her attention.

It worked. "Yes." Her voice was still a bit off, but the menacing tone was back. "You're right. There is still a way." She managed to stand back up. "They are all gone, but I might go after them. I just need to know where they went. And the only place where I can possibly learn that is…"

"MEWNI?!" Laar shouted. "I mean- why would they know what happened to them?"

Eclipsa took a deep breath of fresh air outside the Forest of Certain Death.

"Why would they write down anything about monsters? They despise them," Laar continued

"Indeed, but they also like to record victories over them. And I imagine that after capturing me, they went after them. Mewmen ego couldn't just leave them alone."

"I see."

"If this was the case, they'd certainly send the Scribe with them to witness it. All we need to do is to get into Mewni Library."

"I infiltrated Mewni several times before. This shouldn't be hard."

"Inside the castle."

"Oh."

Laar checked on Eclipsa. "Ehm, I don't to be rude, but uhm I don't they'd allow to walk in in this outfit. They might not remember what happened over 300 years ago, but they still remember _you_."

"They won't see me, or you."

"Wait, what?"

"I might not be Queen of Mewni, but I am still a Queen of Darkness. One simple spell and they'll believe they see a mother with his son."

Now _that_ was an idea he wouldn't be able to get out of his mind for a long time.

The Kingdom of Mewni was towering against an orange sunset. Peasants were finishing their errands in a rush before dark enveloped the surroundings. As if they were spooked by something. Or someone.

"They're sure in a hurry," stated Laar.

Eclipsa just smiled. "Come, we need to get into the castle before the streets will be emptied."

As they were speed walking through the streets, people were frantically moving from one place to another. It was really fascinating, like watching an ant colony during working hours: an old man was hurrying to buy candies for his grandchildren, a few meters further a mother was slapping her kid for eating dirt, and behind a corner, some shady doctor was offering to remove an "affected" limb for free. Yep, Mewni hadn't changed much in all those years. Even the orderly panic caused by Eclipsa's escape was familiar.

"Even though people don't see us, you don't expect to walk into the castle by front door, do you milady?"

"Don't be stupid."

"I'm trying, my Queen."

"There is a hidden entrance just below the bridge."

"Oh. A door?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Why would they put a door there? No, it's a crack in the castle's foundation. Over the years, water eroded it enough for one person to fit in. I used it to escape through it when I was little."

"I can't picture you as a rebel."

"Neither did my parents. Anyway, we're here. The opening is hidden at the bottom, near the river."

"I can't see it."

"Because it's hidden. We need to go down."

Laar looked at the steep descent made by slippery rocks. "I can't possibly climb this."

"You have claws."

"But only one hand!"

"Fair enough."

Eclipsa shoved Laar off the cliff. She then jumped after him with her opened umbrella.

"Why?" asked Laar as he was spitting out dirt.

"You are a monster. You'll live."

"That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

"If I knew you'd be this much of a wuss, I'd release someone else from the crystal."

"I feel privileged."

"You should. Now…" Eclipsa carefully inspected her environment. "Ah yes, there it is."

"Were? I still can't see anything."

"Turn around and you'll see it."

The entrance was cleverly hidden behind the bush, so anyone looking at it from the top wouldn't be able to see it. And by the looks of it, not a single Butterfly Princess discovered it during those 300 years.

Eclipsa moved the bush aside. "Looks like it wasn't used for quite a while. A shame, really. Thankfully, water did its work and eroded the entry; I was afraid I wouldn't be able to fit in."

"Even if it didn't, you could still use your magic, no?"

She looked at him with disbelief, "This is Mewni Castle we are talking about. Even one spark of my magic would be risky. And I don't want them to know we are, or ever were, here."

"Oh."

"Oh indeed. You know what? From now on you'll stay silent. I need to focus and your constant idiotic questions are giving me a headache."

"OK."

"What did I just say?"

Laar wanted again to respond, but he stopped just in time. _"This is the thanks I get for helping her."_

After closer inspection of the entrance, water did indeed widen the crack. But even 300 years weren't enough to make it big enough so that Eclipsa could comfortably go through it. The tunel was crooked, narrow, wet, and smelly. All of this brought back memories of her childhood. The key difference was that she was a lot smaller back then and secret escapes had a sense of adventure. The young girl was now an adult woman, with grandiose clothing in tow. And in this case literally in tow - the sharp edges of cavern were leaving pieces of it behind.

Laar was actually enjoying every second of it. For once he did something better than she did. He couldn't help but to keep smiling like a maniac, which was the price for trying really hard not to burst into loud laughter.

The tunnel now started to ascend. It was also getting darker, so Eclipsa lit up the crystal in her wand to illuminate the path. To Laar's delight it wasn't occupied by any creatures whatsoever. The only thing that was present there besides them was rushing water under their feet. Where was it coming from, he wondered?

The so far straight tunnel now started to have sharp turns, which made the already difficult path even more complicated. This isn't how she remembered those exciting escapes at night, filled with expectations. Now it felt more like… work. A very unpleasant work at that. But if she truly wanted to learn what happened during her absence, she had to go through with it.

"We should be close now," announced Eclipsa. And indeed, water was gone, the cavern a lot dryer, but still eating her address. "Wait, what's this…? No, NO!" She was angrily tapping the wooden obstacle. "Someone replaced the bookshelf with a cupboard. Who would need it inside a library?! Laar, claw it!"

"Uhm, I know I'm not supposed to talk, but I can't go past you. You're on your own I'm afraid."

"Argh! Useless as usual!"

This made Laar angry, but she was the Queen. Besides, what could he do, talk her to death?

Eclipsa tried to push it, but it was too heavy. "Looks like I will have to use my magic after all. Which I really don't want to. Hmm, maybe if I'm really subtle…" She touched the wood with her wand, closed her eyes and silently started to mumble words. The cupboard started to glow in purple shade. The glow was really subtle and the rise of its strength even more so. It took her several minutes before she finally took the umbrella off it and then gently blowed it. The whole cupboard turned into smooth dust.

"Let's just hope no one was inside."

The room was empty. And old. And dusty. And moisty. This combination was very familiar to Laar. _"Great,"_ he thought, _"more books."_

Eclipsa looked at the room with subtle smile on her face. "Here again, in the hidden chamber." She carefully touched the opened book lying on the table. It had a texture like sandpaper and the font was distorted a bit, but still readable. She read few lines. "Someone left it here on purpose?" She closed the book. Its title was _The Great Hunt of Lost Souls_. "Lost Souls? What happened?" She sat on a dusty chair, not minding all the dirt around. "Take a seat, Laar, this will take a while."

Eclipsa opened the book.

 _Hi there! Wait, that's not right. Uhm… Dear reader. Nah that's still not it. Eh, hello? Argh, this is ridiculous! I wanted to be the scribe, but I can't even write a simple introduction properly. Bah, screw it. I'll just write what I see._

 _Right, so, m- ehm, since Eclipsa is locked up - I mean way locked up - it was decided to hunt down all the monsters she managed to ally herself with. Why, you ask? Good question. I was never into politics. I think it was something about security? I dunno, but it sounded really important. And I like to be around important stuff. Without others knowing I'm there with them._

 _That is why I am here right now, with the small hunting party, that will catch and kill said monsters. Between you and me, I never understood why we had to kill them. It's not like they were trying hurt us or anything. But I was told it's too complicated for me understand, so I will just have to believe them._

 _Anyway, the team has 5 members. First, the leader, he's this tall, silent and menacing looking old man called Bher. Silent might be an understatement; when I went after him to introduce myself, he didn't say a word. In fact, he didn't move a muscle. Anywhere. Although his silence speaked volume and let me tell you, it was nothing pretty. But I guess you need these types of people for jobs like this. But you wouldn't want to have him on your party, no sir._

 _Thankfully his second in command, Windblower, was a jolly little fellow. Always laughing, always smiling, always carrying heavy machinery, and for some reason always looking at me… I'm not sure why, but I always felt a little uncomfortable around him. It wasn't that he was bad to me, far from it. But his jokes were alluring me and every time he said one, the retinue was looking at me. Weiiiird._

 _Then there was Spikee. I'm not sure what is his function on this journey, seeing as he has no weapons to speak of, at least I don't see any. But everytime he spoke up, others were listening closely to what he had to say. So I guess that was his function? As a moral booster? Though it stroke me as weird that any royal Mewman would need any boost of any kind. You know what I'm saying?_

 _The last two members were twin sisters - Jawaal and Tristeen. Jawaal was the team's medic. If I can be honest with you, she wasn't exactly gentle with her patients and more often than not they ended up with new injuries after being in her care for just 5 minutes. But she loved her job, I could tell that from the looks on her face. Her twin, Tristeen, was, if you can believe that, a demolition expert. There were rumors that her techniques were so advanced that many considered them magic. So, as a chronically curious person, which I am, I naturally wanted to uncover her secrets._

 _Finding her carriage in the caravan wasn't that difficult. It was the one heavily fortified. Hmm, she really wanted to keep her secrets… well, secret. Fortunately for me, uncovering mysteries was one of my specialties. There wasn't one that could stay hidden from me for long. Unless, of course, its owner was watching me the whole time._

" _What do you think you're doing?" She was breathing down on my neck. How the heck did she get there so fast?_

" _Uhm, nothing?" Perhaps my answer would be believable if I wasn't still holding a lock pick set in my hand._

" _You sure about that?" she pointed to my right hand._

" _Oh, this? Wait, how'd this end up in my hand? Go away!" I threw it away. Yep, my ability to handle awkward situations was smooth as sandpaper._

" _Right."_

" _Oh, come on! I need to know!" I'm pretty sure I was acting like a spoiled little girl."What have you inside? Is it really magic? Or dragons. Do you have small dragons inside? Can I pet them? Would it be OK if I'd took one?" Dammit, I really needed to learn when to shut up._

" _HA! Not such thing. But I do have very delicate cargo in there."_

" _Ooh-ooh, I want to see it!"_

" _You do realize no one is suppose to see it, right?"_

" _Who I am going to tell it to?"_

" _Hmm, good point. OK, fine by me. I always wanted to gloat about my invention anyway."_

 _Hehehe, who is weird for being a loner now, mom?_

 _I'm not sure what I expected to see inside, but crates filled with tiny jars with some kind of liquid inside wasn't it._

" _What am I looking at?"_

" _I still don't have name for it, but this liquid is extremely unstable and violent."_

" _Violent? How?"_

" _Come, I'll show you."_

 _She picked up one jar and she took me away from the caravan and away from the castle. She stopped in the middle of nowhere._

" _Do you see that tree?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Now, watch this." She threw the jar at the tree. What happened after that was simply glorious. That tiny glass vessel made a huge BOOM! A colorful smoke appeared and the tree was simply gone. Only a burning stump remained._

" _WOW! That was- I mean- That thing- How?!"_

" _I know, right?! I created this mixture by accident when I was looking for bigger and better explosives. Who'd knew they can be make into something so small. It's so practical!"_

" _Yeah, you can keep it in your pockets!"_

" _Eeee, I don't recommend that."_

" _Why not?_

" _Let's just say my colleague managed to bump into a wall."_

" _I don't get it."_

" _I had to rebuild that wall."_

" _Oh."_

" _Yeah."_

 _Soon after, the whole gang came. No doubt to see the awesome fireworks. Or so I thought._

" _What's happening over here?!" Bher wasn't happy._

" _I just showed Co-"_

" _This is why I asked for a different demolition expert." He turned to her sister, who didn't seem to be having fun neither. "We are suppose to hunt, trap and kill the monsters, about which we know nothing. We didn't even step foot outside Mewni AND your sister is already causing trouble. Deal with her, or I will!"_

" _Now wait a minute, I won't allow you to talk to me like that!"_

" _Shut up and come here!" Jawaal grabbed Tristeen's hand and took her away._

 _I was at Bher's mercy._

" _Listen to me very carefully, because I'm going to tell this only once. I do not care who you are, or where you come from. Here you're just a scribe and as such you'll shut your mouth, stay behind the caravan, and the only sound I ever want to hear from you is that pen of yours scratching the paper. Do we understand each other?!"_

 _And this was why I don't like people so much. Especially those like him._

" _Yes, sir."_

" _Now get away from my sight!"_

 _Nobody stood up for me. But then again I didn't expect them to; I'm just scribe and a girl at that. So I left the scene with my head down, thinking how stupid I was for actually thinking I could befriend some of them. Silly me._

 _Thankfully nothing happened after that, so without long overdue, the caravan moved to its goal: monster hunting. I, as a mere scribe, had the privilege to walk alongside the carriages, but not too close. Why, you ask? Well, according to Bher: "To not interrupt our work." I guess it's an euphemism for "stop bothering us". But I'm still here, still writing things down and with Mewni getting smaller behind our backs with each step, I feel confident that there'll be something interesting to write soon enough._

… _.._

 _That was the plan anyway. In 3 days, nothing happened. It wasn't just the lack of interesting things, it was the absence of any activity whatsoever. We passed Mewni's borders two days ago, so I expected something to happen, considering the rumors about the outside world. But the truth was that the land here is just like the one we left behind. That means trees, grass, typical nature sounds, some hills on the horizon, and so forth. In other words, boredom everywhere as eyes can see._

 _There was one good thing though. I found out what Spikee's function was: he was our trapper. I've never actually seen one in action before, but his methods looked a bit unconventional to me. I know, it was important to track down the monsters, but tasting dirt of the ground was just too much for me. I mean, how could he possibly learn anything from eating mud?_

" _They're only a day away from us, maybe less."_

 _Wait, what?_

 _Bher wasn't exactly keen on publicly expressing his emotions, but I sensed in his voice a hint of excitement. "We need to speed up."_

 _Wait, WHAT?!_

" _Uhm, boss, we can't go any faster with the scribe still walking… And writing."_

 _Aww, Windblower, you care about me._

" _I mean, I don't care what happens to her, but I don't think they'd take well to her disappearance."_

 _Now that was just cold._

" _Bah, fine! She can sit next to Tristeen. But you'll both be silent, you hear me?"_

 _Oh she heard him alright. Not a single word came out of her mouth. Heck, she didn't even look at me. I have no idea what her sister told her back then, but it was like sitting next to a completely different person that so just happened to have the same name. The awkwardness of this situation hit me like a brick and kept smothering me the entire time I was forced to sit next to her._

 _Lucky me._

 _And the luck continued to deliver throughout the entire day! First, one of the wheels broke. Luckily, they had proper tools to fix it. Unfortunately it took them almost 3 hours. The fearless leader didn't show any sign of emotional response, as usual. He remained stoic even after our carriage got stuck in a fresh mud, left by nearby rain. He just stood there, watching, looking like he was assessing the situation, but I knew better: his nerves had to be twisting into themselves trying to suppress the urge to hurt someone. And when that rain decided to revisit its old stomping ground, I was sure he's gonna chew his own arm off._

 _The rain that hit is us quick and hard wasn't like anything I've seen before. It was thick, fast, heavy and relentless. There wasn't a single sign on the sky that'd suggest it'll pass anytime soon. Dark clouds enclosed the small forest between horizons and they meant to stay there just for the sake of making our lives unpleasant. And if that was their true intention, then they were doing an excellent job._

 _That rain was so loud that they had to yell at each other. "WE CAN'T CONTINUE IN THIS WEATHER!" shouted Spikee. "WE HAVE TO STAY FOR THE NIGHT AND HOPE THIS RIDICULOUS RAIN WILL STOP!"_

 _It was obvious that Bher wasn't exactly happy about this proposal. "NO! WE HAVE TO PRESS ON!"_

" _BOSS, I'D LOVE TO SLAUGHTER THEM AS THE NEXT GUY…"_

 _Which wasn't me, just to make things clear._

" _... BUT IF WE GO FURTHER IN THIS DREADFUL WEATHER, WE WILL GET LOST!"_

" _THAT'S WHY WE HAVE YOU!"_

" _THIS WASN'T EXACTLY A STROLL THROUGH THE PARK AND YOU KNOW IT! THEY HAD TO REALIZE WE'RE ON TO THEM AND ONCE THEY DID, THEY STARTED TO COVER THEIR TRACKS. SINCE YESTERDAY, FIGURING OUT WHERE THEY WERE HEADING WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. EVEN IF THERE WERE ANY TRACKS AHEAD OF US AT ALL, THIS CRAZY RAIN DESTROYED THEM FIVE MINUTES IN! I MIGHT TRY SOMETHING IN THE MORNING, IF THE RAIN WILL STOP UNTIL THEN. BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE PINNED DOWN."_

 _It was really difficult to remember all of those things he said, since I couldn't write anything at that time. But I managed to surprise myself! Yay!_

 _As I am writing this in the comfort of Tristeen's steel carriage, I couldn't help but wonder if all this hassle was really necessary. I mean, I get that what Eclipsa did wasn't to the taste of general public, but she was already dealt with. So why go through all this trouble just to catch a few monsters that were obviously not interested one bit in Mewni? Something isn't right about this. Or maybe I'm just thinking too much._

 _Whatever the case is, Bher eventually agreed, although reluctantly, to camp here. In the middle of nowhere. And by nowhere I mean literally nowhere: these were uncharted lands. No one from Mewni ever visited this place and by its looks I'd say it's because it has nothing of value to offer. Though, for me personally, having this secluded piece of land just for myself would be a great asset._

 _Anyway, the rain outside is still at its full force. Normally, I'd be happy for the chance to fall asleep with rain gently washing the hard cold stone of the castle. But this ain't a stone castle and that thing out there isn't normal rain. As it turned out, when a large number of droplets of water hits something made of steel, it creates this annoying, unpleasant and loud sound. Oh yeah and one more thing: IT MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SLEEP! Which makes it more surprising to see Tristeen sleeping like a baby. How on Mewni is she doing that?!_

" _She made me promise not to talk to you."_

 _So it seems that even she is not impervious to that loud crap._

" _What?"_

" _My sister. She forced me to ignore you. Which I was strongly opposed to, because you look like a cool girl and, well… you know."_

" _I really don't."_

" _Let's just say my sister can hurt with words a lot more than with medications."_

" _I know that feeling." But the truth was - I didn't. Everything was always handed to me. The only thing I ever need to do is to say "I want this!" and I got it. It was cool when I was little, because I thought everybody loved me, that I'm important. But as I got older, I realized that I got all those things simply because I was privileged. And as far as my importance went, I learned that I was merely a tool as a mean to an end. My childhood died that day._

" _I'm really sorry."_

" _Nah, it's OK. I'm kinda used to it."_

" _But you shouldn't be."_

" _Yeah, well, there's a lot of things that shouldn't be."_

" _No!" As she swiftly sat down, her black hair unraveled like a neglected bush. Quite an interesting sight, let me tell you. "What are you smiling at?"_

" _Your, pfff-" Every time she moved her head, her hair assembled itself into a new shape. It was hilarious! "Your hair." I tried so hard not to burst into loud laughter. Not that anyone would hear it in that rain._

" _Oh. Yeah, they're hard to manage." As she was trying to adjust them, they continued to dance around her hand._

 _I couldn't hold myself together anymore. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!" I didn't laugh like this for a long time. It felt good. "I'm sorry, I just- I never saw anyone with such huge…"_

" _Bush?"_

" _HAHAHAHA! Yeah. It looks exactly like that."_

" _That isn't funny."_

" _Oh. I uhm, I didn't mean- I thought that you-"_

" _I'm just playing with ya! HA! But seriously, don't laugh at my hair in front of people. It's humiliating."_

" _Don't worry, I won't. Besides, I didn't see you with the... ehm, construct on your head in day light."_

" _I have a secret way to keep them together during the day."_

" _Seeecret? Do tell! Please tell me!"_

" _Why would you need to know it? You hair looks great! They enhance your beautiful blue eyes."_

 _Ever since my Mewberty incident, I tried to avoid awkward situations at all costs. And I was pretty darn good at it too. But this situation was different. Not only wasn't it me who caused it, but for the first time ever I heard a genuine compliment. I just wasn't sure what exactly made me feel awkward: the compliment itself, or the fact it came from a girl._

 _But it also could be the sudden realization that I didn't mind it at all. And perhaps this would mean something, if things didn't get hairy from this onward._

" _I-"_

" _Shhhhhhh!" I put finger on her lips to suggest that I heard something other than rain outside. Apparently she didn't get the memo, because she instantly started blushing. Looking back at it, this situation would require a lot of explaining. But I was so caught up in the mysterious sound that I didn't pay attention to her reaction._

" _What is it?"_

" _You didn't hear it?"_

" _Hear what?"_

" _I'm not sure."_

" _That's just rain."_

" _I know how rain sounds like. I was listening to it for hours. This was something dif- There is it again!"_

 _Tristeen was obviously trying to hear it too. Fruitlessly. "I can't hear anything."_

" _Oh come on! That stupid rain is making this ridiculously annoying sound for so long I became sensitive to the slightest sound changes. Heck, I could even hear your bones cracking when you were turning over in your sleep."_

" _I'm sorry, but I didn't hear anything."_

 _Just a mere second after she finished her sentence, a light scratching noise came from the back of carriage._

" _I am NOT imaging things!"_

" _Now THAT I heard."_

 _We both looked at locked doors. They didn't seem to be moving._

" _What do you think it is?" I tried to ask with as much confidence I could moisture in this situation._

" _I don't know. And I don't think I want to know."_

 _I turned my head to her with amazement. "What kind of demolition expert are you anyway?"_

" _Hey! Just because I like to blow stuff, and occasionally people, up, that doesn't mean I'm so kind of killing machine. If I can clearly see the target and I have explosives with me, I'm fine."_

" _But you have crates of them!"_

" _Yes. And where are those crates at?"_

" _What do you mean? They're right here, with… Oh."_

" _Oh indeed."_

 _So I'm not a bright thinker when my mind has to work under stress._

" _Should we go to check it out?" Why do you look so surprised? I was the scribe!_

" _You're joking, right?"_

" _If only. Stay here. I'm going out."_

" _No! Stay!" She grabbed my hand._

" _Look, I don't want to go neither, but I have to. I write about this stuff, remember?"_

 _She tightened her grip. "I won't tell anyone. Stay in here with me. Please!" A true hero right there._

 _During this heart crushing demonstration of crippling fear, the scratching noise got a lot louder and the carriage started to shake a little._

" _On second thought, I might stay here with you. At least for a while."_

 _She jumped to me and started to furiously cuddle with me, while her eyes were erratically jumping from one place to another. Ladies and gentlemen, the best demolition expert in Mewni. (Between you and me, I never cuddled with anyone before and it felt… good.)_

 _Terrified to death, we didn't get much sleep that night. We dozed off maybe for an hour, but our fears prevented us to have good night sleep. So when Jawaal opened the door in the morning, she saw two exhausted and scared girls hugging each other. She took it lightly._

" _Whatever. Grab your gear and get out, we'll be soon on our way."_

 _I looked at her and she looked at me._

" _Is it over?" Her voice was still shaking._

" _I think so." And so was mine, though in my case it was more from exhaustion than from fear._

" _The sun is up, so it I think it's over."_

 _The sun wasn't up. At least not how I expected it to be. You see, after that horrible rain, a fog surrounded us. White, creamy fog. But one thing still didn't change since the night: we couldn't see anything farther than 2 meters._

 _Windblower tried to up the mood. "At least the rain is over."_

 _And Spikee ruined it all right after that. "That won't do us much good when we still can't see crap. Let me see if I can pick their tracks again. I'll go check up ahead."_

 _Bher was in his typical cheerful mood. "In the meantime we will prepare the caravan."_

 _I looked down at my feet dugged in fresh mud. "Guys, you're not gonna believe what happened to us last night!"_

" _I don't give a crap on what you have to say! Now get to your position!"_

 _I was hoping that Tristeen would tell them. As I was moving away from the group, I looked back at her and I doubted my hypothesis. She was looking back at me with those sad eyes like hurt puppies. Maybe she'll tell it to Jawaal?_

" _Stop embarrassing me and get yourself together!"_

 _Nope._

 _By the looks of it, we were the only two who experienced it. Which made it that more unsettling. Why would it target only us? This reminded me to check the carriage. We both heard the scratching, so there should've been scratching marks. And there they were, running on both sides. What could do this?_

 _After yelling at her sister as a supportive sibling should, Jawaal started to look around._

" _Shouldn't Spikee be back by now?"_

 _Windblower joined the search. "I don't see him neither. HEY MAN! DID YOU FIND ANYTHING IN THERE?" His voice was really loud. But no response came back. "I'll go check on him."_

 _Bher had a different idea. "No, I'll go. You help with preparations." His tall figure disappeared in the mist._

" _Alright then. You guys have everything packed? You too, girl?"_

 _I was buried so deep within my thoughts that I didn't realize he was talking to me. To be fair, no one has addressed me as girl before._

" _Hmm?"_

" _I asked if you have everything packed."_

" _Oh! I uhm… yes, I do. I'm ready."_

" _Good girl." I wouldn't mind him calling me like that, if it didn't sound so creepy._

 _When the rain hit, we didn't have much time to unpack much, so we were prepared to get going rather quickly._

 _Five minutes have passed and there was no sign of either Spikee, nor Bher._

" _Where are they?!" Jawaal was getting angry._

" _Wait, did you hear that?" Windblower pointed out to his right side. "I could swear I heard something."_

" _I didn't hear anything. Did you?" Jawaal turned to her sister. Still shaken, she just nodded her head._

" _I definitely heard something. And it came from there."_

" _WATCH OUT!" I was the first who noticed an object flying our way. It come from the opposite direction. It flew right passed us and hit one of the carriages. It was Spikee. Or rather what was left of him; his head was missing. I never saw a dead body before, so naturally I ran away to go puking. Tristeen followed me shortly after._

" _Damn! A perfect decapitation. There is barely any blood. What could have done this?"_

" _Animal?"_

" _Animals don't decapitate, idiot. Someone did this."_

 _As I was emptying the contents of my stomach, I couldn't help but notice faint voices all around us. It was hard to pinpoint their exact locations, but they were there, circling around us._

" _Don't be ridiculous! There is no one out there. We're-"_

 _In that very moment, everyone thought about the same thing: we were no longer hunters in this scenario. We just became the prey. And before anyone could say or do anything, a steel hook sprung out of the mist and pierced Windblower's chest. The metal contraption resting there for a solid second or two. We all knew what was going to happen._

" _Oh for…!"_

 _The hook retracted, ripping his heart out. His body was still standing for a few more seconds, but he was pretty much dead at that point. The moment his brain accepted its fate, the body dropped like a bag of corn. There was a high possibility that I would puke some more, but the fast pace of horrifying events has locked me in paralyzing fear. I couldn't do anything but watch._

" _This doesn't bode well." Jawaal focused her sight at a single point in the fog. Logically speaking, her behavior made sense. But it all went for naught when a wire reached her neck from behind, it was clear that logic wasn't on the menu. She touched the thin cable cutting part of her finger._

" _Oh, so that's how-" Before she was able to finish her thought, the wire stretched itself and with a swift movement cut her head off. Her body followed it almost immediately._

 _In just ten minutes, the team of five has shrunk into a single person - Tristeen. I looked at her and wanted to shout, but I was too slow. In retrospect I think I could have just gone to her instead of yelling, but it was done. Two hands with really huge nails came from behind the poor girl's back and landed on her belly. She looked at me with sad eyes, defeated eyes._

" _Corona? I-" All eight nails dug deep into her flesh and opened her stomach wide open. All her guts dropped out like a meat soup. Tristeen suffered the most._

 _The person to which those nails belonged shook the excessive blood out of its hands and started walking towards me. I was in shock and couldn't move. I was staring directly into the eyes of death._

" _You're next." Its voice was even more horrible than its looks. It didn't even bother to go through my ears and just went through my skull. "Chop chop, bi-"_

" _STOP!"_

 _It wasn't alone. Two more monsters leaved the mist and were walking towards me. I wanted to start running away so badly, but I was unable to._

" _I told you several times that the scribe should NOT be harmed in any way."_

" _I don't take orders from you!"_

" _That's right. But if I remember correctly, they were the same orders from the general as well, am I right?"_

 _This obviously enraged the female creature._

" _Go display your tantrum elsewhere. I'm not interested."_

 _After she left the scene, the apparent leader of her turned his attention to me. I didn't like that._

" _And how are we today, young scribe? Or should I say - your highness? As I understand it, if the current queen is gone, her daughter picks the the mantle. Are you the queen yet?"_

 _I don't remember why, but I nodded with my head to confirm his inquiry._

" _Well then, congratulations are due, Corona Butterfly." He knew me. He knew my name. How? Was I a popular topic among monsters perhaps? "Hmm, you really do look like your mother. Especially those eyes. Speaking of which, is she OK?"_

 _I couldn't answer, because millions of my own questions were running through my mind._

" _Speechless, I see? No matter. I guess you're wondering who am I? Does this ring a bell?"_

 _It took me a while to understand what he was showing me. I was staring at his raised left hand for what looked to me like an eternity. Eventually it hit me - it wasn't the hand that he was showing me. It was the golden ring on it. This realization worked like a cold shower._

" _A-Are you… Him?"_

" _Clever girl! Yes, I am him. I won't bother telling you my name, because, frankly, it would be pointless. In any case, know this: we killed your companions because they were here to kill us. Typical Mewmen, full of themselves, thinking they are the rulers even of the land far away from their homeland. This is the price of such folly beliefs!" His companion threw a torso of a body from behind his back directly to my feet. "Not so fearless anymore, isn't he?"_

 _He was a jerk, but he didn't deserve this._

" _You're probably asking yourself why you're still alive. Maybe we just want to play with you a little bit before we chop you into pieces?" He was obviously enjoying seeing me scared to death. "While it is true that this idea did cross my mind, it ain't the reason why you're still breathing. I know very well why you wanted to be the scribe on this particular expedition. You wanted to know why she left you. And my answer to that is: ask your mother. Oh, but you can't, right? Bummer. You are a victim of your own heritage and you don't even know it. Hmph! Anyway, I don't personally hold you accountable for their actions, or the actions of your people. And also because I made a promise to your mother. She actually wanted you to join her someday. I guess we will never know now, won't we?"_

 _After he finished his long speech, he turned around and started walking away. But before he vanished in the fog, he looked at me one last time and said this:_

" _Send my regards to your father." He took off the ring and dropped it._

 _And with that, he was gone. Together with the fog. I was left alone and shaken in untouched nature with the caravan and mutilated bodies all over the place. It took me a while to calm down, but after I did, reality sipped in and I cried for tens of minutes. Uncontrollably and without pause._

 _After all that, there was nothing left for me to do, than to bury my retinues. It was the least I could do for them. I left them behind in their last resting place, took the carriage and set off home._

 _The monsters were finally gone._

Eclipsa was staring at the last sentence for a good minute. "I had no idea. About anything. And by the looks of it not even about my own daughter. I always thought that Corona was distant, but she was just… weird. I wish I could tell her how sorry I am for misunderstanding her. Now it's 300 years too late, I guess." She sighed. "Well, at least he got away." But a sudden blow of air revealed another page. "What's this? I don't remember journals having epilogues." She turned the page.

 _Hi mom! I bet you're really surprised that I addressed you specifically. How do I know it's you? Funny story. I discovered this hidden chamber by accident. No, seriously, I didn't even know it existed. It's not like you told me about it, right? Anyway, when I entered it, the first thing that came to my attention was that specific smell of your perfume. To my amazement it was still strong, even though you set foot in here almost 17 years ago! You sure knew how to pick good stuff for yourself. I wish I learned that from you._

 _Anyhow, my first thought was to rebuild it so that my little sweetheart could study here when she grows up. Wait, didn't I tell you? I'm a mom now. And you are a grandma! Ta-da! Isn't that great? Her name is Solaria and I'm always there for her. Sometimes maybe too much, but that's what mothers do, am I right? At any rate, after giving it serious thought, I came to the conclusion that it'd be better to just leave it as it is. I don't expect you'll ever visit this place again, but knowing you… Well, let's just say I learned not to underestimate you. They don't call you Queen of Darkness for nothing, isn't that so?_

 _Either way, I have decided that I'll use this place as a time capsule. Now the question is what would I want to tell you after all the stuff you read in my journal, right? Well, it's actually a hilarious tale. It goes like this: What you just read about your dear monster lover wasn't exactly true. The story that went public had a happy ending, in which the entire crew survived and went living somewhere nice. But I kept the true ending just for you. I know what you're going to say, princesses shouldn't lie. But you see, I wasn't a Princess when I went to hunt with them. I was a queen. A Queen of Mewni! Because you decided that ditching me and dad was a good idea. Well guess what: wrong call. I grew up without my mother. It took me years, long, hard years before I fixed myself, so I could start my own family. But here is the kicker: less than a year after you left us, dad killed himself._

 _I bet you must feel really proud about yourself right now, knowing that you achieved your goal. You managed to break a man that, for a reason I can't fathom, decided to invest his whole life, his whole heart in you. I guess you felt he wasn't good enough. He surely did, because he hanged himself in conviction that he had failed YOU. Are you laughing right now? Because I am. But not for the same reasons. You see, what really happened in that forest was that after he mentioned dad, I got a little carried away._

 _I felt I had to express my feelings of him mentioning my father. So, I found the best way to let my emotions out of my heart. You know, like you did for papa. I ran to Tristeen's carriage, took out an entire crate of her explosive liquid and I threw it at him with all my heart. And let me tell you, my heart didn't feel this happy for a long time. It brought me so much joy seeing that the only thing you ever loved was now a combination of dust and smoke. Even writing it brings a smile to my face. Isn't that great? Well, I guess that's all I wanted to say to you. There is nothing else I'm afraid. Wait... No, no, there is one thing, the last thing you'll ever see from me:_

 _WE ARE EVEN, MOTHER!_

Eclipsa closed the book. Really slowly, almost gently. The air in the chamber started to heat up.

"Get out."

"Is something wrong, milady?"

"I SAID GET OUT!"

Laar saw Eclipsa pissed many times before. However this time was different. For once, he was actually afraid of his own life.

"I'm going!" He couldn't possibly run in the narrow tunnel, but he lost some blood while trying to do so.

And while Laar was trying to save his life from an explosion that could very well destroy the whole castle, Eclipsa was losing it. Back in the crypt, she thought she'd lost everything. However here she _knew_ she'd lost everything. Even worse, she lost it by the hand of her own daughter. Anger and sorrow was fueling her rage that was harvesting all the dark magic she could gather. In this case the source was almost infinite and it ran deep. The wand at this point was glowing like a sun, ready to explode like one as well. She was ready and willing to wipe out the Butterfly lineage from the face of the planet.

"Star, wait!"

The voice was carrying itself down the hall.

"No! Marco, I'm done waiting!" Her voice spiked around the castle undergrounds. "I thought, I thought that you were my friend!"

"You're mad at me! The emotional strain that-!" He tried to defend himself to no avail.

"I don't want to hear it! I-I thought that you would… that you would at least respect my feelings! But all you do is tramper over them!" Faint sobbing is heard. "You fear me! You fear my affection! I'm tired of it!"

"I'm, ugh, we don't have time for this Star!"

"You know what I saw in that tapestry? Something worth chasing, a friend that I could call a lover! You know what I see in front of me? A scared little boy, that doesn't dare to let go of his price! At this point I think she deserves better too, better than someone who kisses their best friend and decides to stay silent about it!" The roar visibly shocked Marco, more than what Star had expected.

"How do you- HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT TH-" The seeping fire was washed out by the sobbing Star.

"We'll go to the stupid Silver Bell Ball! Okay? We're going cause I'm expected to. Oh princess Star, always gets what she wants, look at her dancing with her true love!" She pranced around mockingly. "Well I don't, do I! Can't even get a best friend who can accept that my feelings exist!"

The door slammed, leaving just silence in both the hallway and the chamber. Eclipsa was intrigued. "Silver Bell Ball?" She was still panting quite heavily, but the idea of the ball got her attention. "Yes." She grinned with the malice of a snake. "Yes!" She took her wand and calmly entered the tunnel. "I'll show them the true meaning of suffering and pain." Her voice was getting fainter by each second. "I'll get my revenge on the Butterflies!" After that, the room remained silent as it was for over 300 years before.

Except this time it didn't last long. A bright flash of white light accompanied by a buzz sound consumed the whole room for just a second. After that it was silent again. This silence however lasted even less.

A huge, heavy book fell on the ground, lifting clouds of dust after impact. The book itself was ornamented with all kind of jewels and markings, with several pages sticking out. Order clearly wasn't its strong point. The weirdest thing about it was that it was making sound.

"Kch-kch-kch"

But we all know that books can't make sounds. Right? Right, because it wasn't the book itself making those sounds. It was the little blue man that fell out of it. Which, in retrospects, sounds a lot weirder.

"Wha-kch-kch-what just happened? Where am I?" He inspected the chamber he was in. "Oh, hmm, the hidden-kch-chamber. Yes, I know where I am. The mystery is how I got here." He then proceeded to inspect the book. "Hmm. Yes. Yes. Interesting." He was poking it from all directions, as if he half-expected to it to come alive. "Yeah, no. How did I get back? I shouldn't be here, right? I mean… I was… There… Helping… And now… Hmm." The little blue man looked confused. "Well, I guess something happened for some reason. I mean, who am I to judge?"

Out of the blue, the book got restless. It was shaking, even jumping, almost like something was trying to get out.

"OK, now _this_ shouldn't be happening."

The book was abruptly opened and it started listing itself through countless pages filled with texts and pictograms. It stopped when it reached a single blank page. It was simmering for some reason.

"Oh boy, this isn't good."

The blank page ripped itself out and swiftly went right through locked doors… with solid stone on the other side like if it was butter.

He closed the book and jumped right on it. "Up! We have to follow it!" The book went through the solid stone wall like a bullet, leaving a huge mess in its wake.

Ripped out pieces of paper were moving in a way that no pieces of paper should, ripped out or otherwise. It was swift, elegant and lightning fast, with no sound to speak of. The tiny dude flying on a book, a scene like from a movie which we can't name because of copyright infringement, was anything but.

"Sorry. Sorry again. Oops. Out of the way, ladies!"

"Glossaryck?!"

"We'll talk later, your highness! Now, where did it go? I lost it from my sight. No matter, I know where it went. I just really hope I'm wrong this time."

He parked the book in front of a slightly opened door. A faint light was emanating from the tapestry room. It surely looked the exact way he thought it would. He slipped through the gap. It didn't take him long to find what he really didn't want to find there: he was standing in front of a finished tapestry of an unknown queen.

"Luna."

 **Chapter 9 of the Hidden Truth was written by Terepin and Edited by Haunted Melon and Saokpe**


	10. Silver Bell Ball

"ECLIPSA!" Moon woke up in a thunderous yell, her screams permeating through her bedroom. She stared up at the ceiling, and then down at the floor.

 _Oh. That's right. Eclipsa isn't here right now… The Ball!_

Moon slammed herself into her closet, frantically searching for her gown. How could she have forgotten?

 _Wait, what is that noise? It sounds… familiar._

River was still sleeping, so she silently approached the door and carefully opened. At that very moment a huge book flew in front of her. She couldn't believe her own eyes.

"Glossaryck?!"

"We'll talk later, your highness!"

And with that, the book with the little blue man vanished behind the corner.

…..

 _Last Night_

Star's vision slowly faded back to normal as reality reshaped itself around her. She could see… Figures around her… Marco!

Star lunged at the boy, happy to see him after their… Confrontation earlier. But… No. This wasn't Marco.

"Ugh… Star, watch where you're tripping."

Janna.

"Uh… Do you know where Marco is?" Star asked, hoping that she wasn't sounding too creepy.

"Oh Marco? He ran off. What a chicken."

"What? Why?"

Janna sighed. "Oh, it was nothing: you relapsed into Mewberty, tried to hunt down Marco, and Marco was forced to engage in PDA with you to get you back. The usual stuff."

Star was silently gazing on her, with her mouth slowly opening, as if they were preparing to release some kind of statement. Her mind, which was in charge formulating that statement, was however currently occupied in full blown panic mode. She made many mistakes that made her speechless, but this was this first that made her breathless.

"Star?"

A wild whirlwind of contradictory ideas a thoughts was spinning in her head, creating what could be best described as a cool party, if that party was held by bunch of intoxicated hippies. It was not. The conflict was a bloody mess between her mind and her heart, trying to smother each other.

"Star! Snap out of it!"

Her consciousness was holding back in the corner. It was agitated, because it knew better - it didn't matter which side will win this war, it will be it that will have to go up front and explain this mess to Marco. _Oh NOW they argue! Where were they when my sister took over the body last night and made her chase him like a wild beast?! I was yelling the whole time at them the to do something. Bot nooooo, they had to take take their sweet sleepy time! And now I will have to deal with aftermath. Argh, if I could… just…!_

Janna slapped Star. "WAKE UP!"

"Ouch! Why did you hit me?!"

"You were sitting there like a statue for 5 minutes!"

"I was?"

"Sigh! You know what, this is your mess, so deal with it. I'm gonna grab breakfast. Come see me when you will to cry on my shoulder." She moved her hand and went for the door.

"I- Oh."

"Come to Mewni, they said. Have magical fun, they said."

"Uhm, I didn't sa-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Janna's voice disappeared in the hallway.

Star was left alone in her room with the worst enemy every person can have - herself. She was desperately trying to find an excuse not to go and do what was the annoying voice in her head nagging her to do. She couldn't find any.

"I'm a warrior. I can handle this! I mean, I should be. In theory. Possibly..." As was her self confidence dwelling into abyss, her fingers gently touched her lips. _I finally had that kiss, the REAL kiss I wanted so badly, and I don't even remember it. I must be the happiest girl in whole Mewni right now._

The morning silence was suddenly peared by high-pitched girly voice that came from somewhere from inside the castle. "Of course I will marry you! I thought you will never ask me!"

Star decided to adequately respond by yelling this: "Oh who cares about your stupid proposal?!" That sudden burst of anger finally pushed her to make the decision. "I'm getting my own proposal, one way or another!"

Star jumped from her bed, not caring one bit that she is still in her night dress, and fueled by fascinating mixture of anger and love, she went straight for Marco's room, like a bull decided to get that damn red dot. But by the short time she stood before wooden doors leading to his bedroom, she froze in fear; anger cooled down and the only thing, which was aggressively taking over her entire body, was the only thing in whole universe that could defeat every warrior.

She was unprepared and defenseless.

" _Dios mío_. Now what?"

She was lost within her thoughts so deep she didn't notice Marco standing in front of her.

"Hello? Can you tell me what you need?"

There he was - standing, with his ridiculously photogenic face and shhhhhhh-irtless.

Star kept staring at him, silently opening and closing her mouth. Marco didn't mind, as he was used to expect weird things from her. Star stuttered for a hot minute before finally being able to word something out.

"I-I just wanted to apologise…" Star's sweet, if a bit shaken tone didn't seem to hit Marco, who was obviously not interested in talking with Star.

"What for?" The bitterness emitting from Marco left Star a bit uneasy.

"What do you mean 'what for'?"

Marco walked over to the elegant looking closet that he was provided with. He slowly opened it and saw a collection of grey shirts and hoodies. His Blood Moon ball outfit was folded neatly, but hidden in the back, as if he didn't want to see it. So was the outfit he used for Star's song day celebration.

"What are you sorry about?" He seemed to not be paying attention to the conversation at hand, and in a way telling Star to leave. She didn't get the memo.

"Wha- b-but-" She wasn't exactly sure how to handle this situation. "That… hunting incident."

"Hm. Thought you'd apologize for almost forcefully kissing me." He casually elaborated as he picked up the skull shaped mask from his closet.

"Oh… yeah, that too. I- I'm sorry." She whispered, her face with a red tint. "I didn't mean to…" The warm feeling she was feeling ever since she laid her eyes on him was finally taking over her common sense. "Wait, what am I saying? I didn't mean to apologize, not then, not now!"

"That's the issue ain't it? You get whatever you want, even if you don't know you do…" Star looked at Marco with somber eyes, rubbing her arms sheepishly.

"N-No, you are trying to turn this against me. I didn't do anything wrong." She started to fight back and that got Marco's full attention. He swiftly turned around with flames in his eyes.

"You're joking, right? Tell me you are joking."

"I'm serious."

"You _forced_ the kiss on me!"

"Don't pretend you didn't like it!"

"Liked it? Star, there was nothing to like! I have a girlfriend back home. I didn't came here with you so we could become a couple. I came as a friend and ONLY as friend! And after this ball is over, I will leave as one as well."

Marco's resistance was planting panic in her heart. "Liar!" She yelled.

"Really?"

"You liked that! You liked that I was going to kiss you. I felt it!"

"You're just imagining things because you wanted them to be true. Why do you have to force this? I thought our friendship was important to you."

"It was. It is. But it isn't enough. Not anymore." Star's blush now turned into fully red face. Partially because she was angry at him, but mostly because she knew what she was about to do. And she didn't want to stop herself. "And I'll prove to you you want it too!"

Faster than light, she closed the second closet door, thus locking Marco between the other door and her arms. He tried to break free, but with every sporadic movement, he was more locked in place. Her lungs were now working as fast as a rabbit running towards carrot fields.

"I will… prove it… to you…"

"Star… I think you should calm down."

"NO! I'm tired of playing games. I-" Their closeness was ripping apart the last ounces of her mind she had left her. She was prepared to surrender completely to her desires. Be what may. "I know you want me as much as I want to you."

"Star, don't do this. Please."

"Don't be afraid."

She closed her blue eyes and started to reach his lips. He was cornered and had nowhere to run. And so, he did exactly what animals do in such scenarios to protect themselves - he fought back. He wanted only push her away, but the adrenalin rush caused that she fell down and hit her head against bed.

Marco, realizing the mistake he had made, wanted to help her to stand up, but she quickly did that herself and moved away from him. Marco felt remorse and guilt, two emotions Star had become a master at making Marco feel.

Her spiteful stare stabbed through Marco's heart. She was more embarrassed than mad, but what she was projecting to Marco didn't reflect that fact. Star was hurt, that much was clear. Hurt enough to fight back and saying that Marco wasn't prepared for that rebuttal, is an understatement.

"OK, fine. You proved your point. Have it your way."

"Star…"

"No Marco! I'm done waiting!" Her voice spiked around the desolate room. "I thought, I thought that you were my friend!" Her comment frustrated Marco even more.

" _Friend? I am your friend! I-I, what I've done- all I've done for you, Star…!"_

"You're mad at me! The emotional strain that-!" He tried to defend himself to no avail. Star huffed anger but Marco matched, stomping his foot on the ground. Star sightly jumped but kept her footing. "No, this isn't fair! I did NOTHING WRONG HERE! Did I say anything to you when you liked Oskar?"

"It wasn't the same thing!" Star had stopped backing away, she was confident in her response, a confident yell.

Marco stayed silent, his harsh stare conveying everything he could say, and more. It startled Star once more, but she shook it off, letting the tension between them grow.

"I-I thought that you would… that you would at least respect my feelings! But all you do is trample over them! You fear me! You fear my affection! I'm tired of it!"

"I'm- UGH!- we don't have time for this Star!" Marco hissed, folding his arms together. "I'm NOT sorry for being this angry. You keep trying to get what you want but you know what? You CAN'T get everything. And...and…" Marco clenched his fists, eyes closed shut. Star continues talking, growing a displeased smirk.

"You know what I saw in that tapestry? Something worth chasing, a friend that I could call a lover! You know what I see in front of me? A scared little boy, that doesn't dare to let go of his prize! At this point I think she deserves better too, better than someone who kisses their best friend and decides to stay silent about it!" The roar visibly shocked Marco, more than what Star had expected. He backed away, shaking in surprise.

"How do you- HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT TH-" The seeping fire was washed out by the sobbing Star. She started crying loudly, backing toward her door.

"We're going to the stupid Silver Bell Ball! Okay? We're going cause I'm expected to. Oh princess Star, always gets what she wants, look at her dancing with her true love!" She pranced around mockingly. "Well I don't, do I! Can't even get a best friend who can accept that my feelings exist!"

She stormed out of the room, throwing the door as hard as she could. The bang left a ringing in Marco's ears. After a second of readjusting, Marco laid on his bed. The soft fabric easing up his tensions just slightly. Millions of thought rocked through his mind, nothing new to Marco. Staring at the roof, the beautifully decorated roof being hidden by the morning moon light, almost looked like the light had a red tint to it.

"Good going Diaz, you really handled that situation like a champ." He sarcastically whispered to himself. "That Ball is going to be a real fun ride…"

He nudged his head to face the open closet. The neatly folded suit in the corner caught his eyes. The _sombrero_ hiding a colorful looking combination of red's and blacks.

"I'm an idiot… maybe I should just return to Earth… Better than getting emotionally abused here…" He started getting ready, not pleased at all what's going to happen next. "... better then mentally abusing people here…"

The Ball was simply incredible in design - Pink peach flowers hanging from pots, all the guests dressed in gorgeous dresses and suits. Truly, this was a time to remark on the beauty of life and the pride of Mewni.

Or not, proven by Star angrily kicked a loose napkin on the floor. Every step she took could melt the very fabrics of the expensive carpets covering Butterfly Castle. One thought continued to dance in her mind - Marco. 'Stupid jerk… stupid boy… I hate you… I hate you…' Her mind said on repeat, soon getting into the ballroom itself. The Ball room was empty, it was planned to start in another half hour.

Marco hadn't gotten to the Ball yet, which added to the stress and frustration the ball had been giving Star. 'That jerk likely isn't even going to show up…' She thought bitterly, clenching her gloved hands into angered balls. Her arms crossed, she sat down next to her father in a reserved seat that the High Commission had left for the royal family… and Marco.

After a while of scurrying around, the royal servants had finished their preparations. Not long after, Moon barged in, worrying that the event had started without her. To her surprise, it wasn't even close to starting.

"Moon, dear! You're early!" River jumped out of his seat, just as surprised as Moon was.

"Huh? Yes I am!" A sense of confidence and pride was let out through the statement.

"Well that's good. The whole family's early for once!" He pulled Star out of her seat to capture her in an embrace. She wasn't amused.

River could feel the burning wrath coming from Star's well dressed body and let go. Star fell back into her seat.

"Star dearie…. What's wro-" River was cut off by Star's dark expression, making him shut his mouth.

"I don't want to talk about it." Star was cold, speaking in a tone very foreign to River.

River fell silent. He tried thinking about what could cause this angered response. But flashes of the night before rang in his mind, making him think 'Oh'. The king sighed, sitting back in his throne.

Janna slowly walked in with Star's earthly "date". Janna was nagging about something or another, that much was clear. Marco didn't seem to be paying attention, as his eyes were caught by Star, and her's by him. They both quickly looked away, but not fast enough for Janna not to notice. She could tell dark emotions were dancing between them, as if simply walking between them would shock her. Janna had heard them bicker earlier in the morning, so she decided, that for the first time in their friendship, to not annoy.

"I think… I'm gonna go talk with Star." Janna scurried off, leaving Marco in the middle of the entrance. 'I hope they patch things up…' She noticed Star's forced smile and Marco's bitter frown from the distance. 'I really hope they do...'

Many visitors started to flood the ballroom. Marco didn't know where to go, he didn't dare go next to Star, and he didn't know the majority of the attendees. The ones he did, were chatting up with his "date". That included Pony Head that had reached the ball whilst Marco stood in place, internally panicked. Not only did he mess up the day with Star earlier today, he didn't dare patch up the situation. He dug into his pocket, feeling his dimensional scissors burning hot. Touching the handle, he thought about Earth and was going to make a portal, to escape everything. To escape _her_. But… he sighed, letting his hand rest and remained still.

After a couple of seconds of internalized screaming, he noticed the Lucitor family walk in. There he was, his escape goat. 'Thank heavens…' Without hesitation, he ran closer through the crowd of royal families trying to settle down and called for Tom. "TOM!" The screech caught the demon boy's attention.

Tom jumped in surprise, seeing Marco practically run up to him. The demon noticed his 'friend's' face twisted and somewhat somber. "Oh, hey Marco. Uh...so you are Starship's 'date' for this thing?"

King Lucitor looked at Marco intently, making him sweat with fear. "Mmm… seems weak for a future king, right sweetie?"

Queen Lucitor just rubbed Marco's head with her large claw. "Aw, he's just the cutest thing!"

Marco slid back slightly, holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you… would you mind if I borrow Tom for a few minutes?" They both nodded, shaking Marco's hand and walking off to who knows where. Tom felt Marco practically dislocated his right arm as the duo ran off to a hallway away from the crowd. He looked around nervously, _far_ away from Star's line of sight. "Okay, what is going on Daiz? You are acting… strange."

Marco slid down the wall, shaking madly. "I… I don't know what to do anymore. It's like I'm the bad guy for having emotions for Jackie." Tom's eyes grew wide, sitting down next to his companion. "It's not like I don't feel anything for Star. She is my best friend and I deeply care for her. But I'm sick and tired of being FORCED into making a damn choice!"

Tom noticed the red complexion in Marco's brown eyes, filled with anger and bitter rage. 'He… he's on the verge of snapping. Damn…' He coughed, folding his hands and looking away from Marco. "Star always get's what she wants at some point. She wanted to be my girlfriend, poof, we dated. She wanted a undead horse, poof, I made it for her. She wanted to break my heart, poof, I allowed that to happen." He looked coldly into Marco's eyes. "You know, people would _kill_ to be in your shoes right now."

Marco just glared at Tom, sending a look that would make any sane soul shiver with fear. Anger was in Marco's eyes, fury masked behind mostly calm complexion. Tom glared right back, trying to out-match his gaze. But to the demon's shock, he felt _scared_. Not for himself, but for someone else. "Lucky? LUCKY!?" Marco punched the wall, making it shake slightly. "How can I be lucky, when it's like everything I feel is wrong? Every time I simply _look_ at Star, it's like my heart is screaming 'you are a jerk' or 'you should hate yourself for hurting her' but I did nothing wrong!" Marco scoffed, shaking his head. "And by people, you mean you, correct?"

Tom rubbed his neck, looking away from Marco. "Back up there… _what_ did Starship do exactly?" Tom asked with worry. Marco slid his hands down a tired face, moaning in frustration.

"Okay, remember the Blood Moon Ball?" Tom rolled his eyes playfully and waved his hand casually. "Well, when we got back, Star said 'I don't need a hero, I need a friend.' So her having a crush on me now is really confusing!" Marco rubbed his temples, trying to stay calm. "I mean...why would anyone like me anyway? Lucky that even Jackie likes me. I...don't want to hurt anyone."

Tom rubbed his neck, unsure what to even say at this point. He simply sighed, patting Marco's back. "You know, I could take Star off your hands." Marco gave a mocking glare, with the two boys snickering.

"I think she will just turn you into a block of ice again man." Tom simply smiled, looking at the ballroom. Star was talking to the guests, but he clearly could tell the anger and pain within her normally bright blue eyes.

"Want my advice?" Marco nodded, seeing Tom stand up and holding out his hand. Marco took it and got up. "Talk to her about what you just told me. If she really is your best friend, she would accept you don't feel the same way back."

Marco rubbed his hands within messy brown hair. "That is the thing, I don't _know_ if I feel the same way back or not." Tom shrugged his shoulders and started walking back into the ballroom.

"Look man, you need to be… uh, a man and face this head-on. Do the right thing, for Star." Marco nods sheepishly, seeing his demon friend catch up with his parents. Sliding back down the wall, he takes out his wallet. It contained two pictures. One of himself and Jackie posing during a carnival date. The other is him and Star posing together in a photo, the latter giving a playful piece sign while the former has his arm around her. Marco closes his eyes, feeling intense guilt and sadness. Clenching the two pictures into messy balls, he tosses them on the floor and heads back into the ballroom, praying this night goes by fast.

He walked back into the ballroom, finding a wall to lean on. Marco feels some dark glare nearly burning his skull. Looking toward that direction, it isn't a prince or a noble like he thought. It was his 'date' Star, having a look of pure malice in her normally bright blue eyes. They locked vision with one another, Marco wincing at the pain Star was sending to him. Picking up a small glass, he tried to lock his vision away, but he simply couldn't; Star's blue eyes were more powerful.

"Okay. Time to man up. Just go to her, snatch her away from others and talk to her. Blurt the first thing it comes to your mind and hope for the best. I mean, it's not like it can get any worse than this, right?" He drank the glass to the bottom. "Right!"

Seeing figments of various people within the glass, two figures. The two were familiar, one being of a princess-like figure surrounded by golden light and another being coated with an ethereal blue aura. The figures soon laughed at him...getting progressively louder. He looked away from the glass, seeing Star continue to glare at him. Rage suddenly overcame him, chucking the glass violently to the ground.

It made such a small sound, but it was as if a trumpet was playing. Everyone locked their vision onto Marco. Looks varied based on the person; worry, confusion, anger. But Star felt an emotion she _never_ felt about Marco; fear. Marco looked at her as if he wanted to end her on the spot. She shook slightly and held her ground. Marco marched off, ignoring the burning gazes hovering around him.

Moon and River looked between the two, feeling something was off. Star just resumed talking to other nobles and prince's, masking the deep fear of something she fully doesn't understand.

"YO, B-Fly, waddup!" Pony head hovered over to Star and Janna, who both seemed to be mourning.

"Okay, y'all seem way to sad…" She slowly looked over at the princess, "... and mad."

Star refused to speak up, instead she stared at Marco from a distance, who, at the time, was speaking to Tom. The flying princess gasped.

"DID THAT EARTH TURD DID SOMETHING TO YA'!" The loud yell fell mute to the crowd.

Star growled, and then sighed,"Ummmmm…. Yes. It's just, it frustrates me that he keeps going on about *Jackie*."

"OH NO HE DIDN'T!"

Star smirked, slightly agitated,"It's no biggie."

"NO BIGGIE!"

Ponyhead's reddish hair was quite radiant that day. She was well dressed, dressed like a princess, not much different compared to Star.

"Yea… no biggie…" she dismissively answered, still locked on Marco, who was holding a glass of some kind of blue liquid.

"NAH! YOU TELL ME WHAT THAT TURD DID TO YOU RIGHT NOW!" Pony head finally caught Star's attention, and assaulted Janna's eardrums even more.

"Huh? Oh, right! Well, you won't believe what happened! Marco -" Star rambled about her and Marco's conversation, or argument to be more accurate, earlier in the morning, telling how much of a jerk he acted like. With all this bashing of his character, Star still couldn't help but throw in compliments here and there. Pony head nodded at all her friend was saying, believing her no matter what logical jumps Star made. After a while of venting, Star got to her mewberty relapse.

"Then he kisses me, and decides to keep it secret!" She yells in a fit of anger. The ballroom seemed to go silent, even though the only two in shock were Ponyhead and Janna, both for obviously different reasons.

"HE WHAT!" Ponyhead yelled louder than ever before, this time actually attracting a crowd. "Sorry! Sorry. Nothing to see here." The crowd quickly dispersed, and kept enjoying their evenings.

"Well, in my relapse, I kept chasing after Marco, apparently the only way he could stop me was by…"

"Yes?"

"Well... He just let me do... Uhm, my thing."

"Spill it out already, girl!"

"Kiss. He let me to kiss him."

"So what?"

"I didn't kiss him."

"No?"

"WE kissed. Each other!"

A second of silence hit the ballroom once again.

"Wait," Ponyhead finally speaks up, "-didn't you want Marco to kiss you?" A more sarcastic tone overshadowed her previous angry and worried tone.

"NO! I mean, yeah! Of course! But that's not the point!" She frustratedly stutters. Ponyhead looks at her, doubtful. "Mhm?"

"YES!" Star crossed her arm and went back to staring at Marco who was still drinking his odd red drink.

Star noticed that Janna was biting her tongue. She seemed oddly agitated.

"Star….. Don't you think you're overreacting a little here?" Janna was trying to get Star to understand Marco better.

Star snapped her head back. "What?"

"I dunno Star…" Janna shrugged. "I'm on your side here, but... Don't you think you're being a bit too harsh on Marco?"

Star glared coldly at Janna, making the girl back up a bit. "Too harsh? TOO HARSH?! That jerk….ugh!" She punched the air in frustration, making Janna and Pony Head look at each other in slight fear. "He can't make up his mind! I KNOW he likes me back!"

Janna glared at Star...soon snickering. "Haha!" She slapped her knees, making Star get confused. "Look girl, I know Marco well. Better than you, ironically." She leans close to Star's face, smirking. "He's someone that thinks about things again and again and… well, you know." She backs up, pacing in place. "Point being, he takes his time making a choice." Looking back at Star, she frowns bitterly. "You noticed his face tonight, right?"

Star looks over at Marco, who was harshly glaring at her.

Pony Head scoffed. "Oh that Earth Turd is just sour that Jackie girl isn't here."

Janna glared at her though, making the horse head back up. "Don't tell me you're on his side?"

Janna just shook her head, bitterly laughing. "You two are idiots sometimes. Star, if you keep this up, you will lose him forever." She walked off, refusing to show her true anger at the situation. Star looked at her hands, feeling sadness wash over her. Looking over to where Marco walked off to, she had a focused expression.

"I know that look B-Fly. If you doin' something stupid, I have your back." Star smiled at her bestie before walking away. She passed various nobles, princes and princesses, having one singular goal. She finally found Marco, or rather they both found each other.

"Marco? Can we talk please?"

"I wanted to ask you the same thing. But can we go somewhere private?"

"Uhm, we can go to balcony."

"After you, princess."

Fortunately for them, balcony wasn't occupied.

"Marco-"

"No. Let me start first. You are really confusing me here." Marco admits, finally turning around. There was no rage or anger, only a bitter frown etched across his face. Star wanted to back up, but stayed firmly rooted into the ground. "I… I am unsure how say this. We are best friends and have been through so much together. When you left… I took it hard. You know?"

Star stood next to Marco, trying to get closer. "I didn't feel any better. When fighting through the forests with Mom, I kept wearing your hoodie. Hehe… wore it like a cape." Marco raised an eyebrow, before shaking his head and snickering. "I looked coooool and stuff."

"I would imagine." Marco comments, folding his arms and forming a small smile. "You can be really pushy when you really want something. Which is a great thing, don't get me wrong. As a princess, it is expected from you to be assertive. But…" Marco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "But with people it's different. And a lot more complicated."

Star looked into ground. "Yeah, I noticed."

"So why did you do it?"

"Huh?"

"Why you were trying so hard to forceful about admitting my feelings?"

She wasn't prepared for this question. Now, he was the one asking them. Star didn't find this new role one bit comfortable. "I-uhm, well… The things is… That…"

Marco smiled. "Not so easy when it is you who need to answer, eh?" He turned to her. "Star, I get you. I really do. You fight the monsters all the time and with them it's super simple: you're the good guy, they're the bad guys, so you go and kick their asses. Simple. It's familiar with friends: you laugh, you have good times with them, occasionally beat up some more monsters. It's still straightforward - in both cases you know what to expect. However…" Marco grabbed her hand and covered it with his other hand. "When you suddenly realize that you'd like to change that and, say, want to sit on the roof during starry night with your friend, you find yourself having problems with finding the proper words. Because you know that when you said it wrong, it will get awkward and uncomfortable."

Star was eating his every word with pure fascination. She realized he was actually about his own feelings in his own dorky way. For the first time, she truly felt connected.

"And then there is Jackie." He took a deep breath. "Being here with you, I must face the uncomfortable truth: I don't like her how I should. I had crush on her for so long, that now when I finally have her, it feels more like victory and she is the prize. We have no history. With you, however-"

"Hush now." She covered his mouth with his hand. "We have talked more than enough. We both know where this is going, so let's just..."

Her head was slowly getting closer to Marco, while he wasn't showing any signs of backing away.

"...do the… thing…"

"C-Children…" Moon coughed, rubbing tired hands. "The official Silver Bell Dance is starting soon."

Marco wanted to comment on Moon's pale face, but Star's worried expression told him not to.

"We'll be right there. Just give us a moment."

"As you wish. But don't stay too long."

Star turned her attention back to place where Marco was standing. Not anymore - he was already on his way back inside.

"Are you coming?"

"Huh? How…? Bah, nevermind. Let's go."

Star grabbed Marco's hand and the duo ran inside. "Okay Mom! We are going to have some fun!" Moon noticed the beaming grins on Star and Marco, feeling relieved.

The entire room was extremely dark, almost pitch black, with only Mewni's moons shining some light onto the scene.

Star's dragging of Marco suddenly stopped when they reached the center stage. Marco vaguely noticed that some people were staring at them.

Star sniffled, slightly blushing. "Well…. Are we going to start anytime soon?"

They proceeded into a slow dance; Marco's heartbeat was beating faster than ever before. Their steps were perfectly synchronized, right foot after left foot. As if they were one being, the duo moved along to the soothing music in the air. It was pure exhilaration for Marco, feeling Star's warm within his very hands forcing his confidence to come out. The air around them seemed to glow, as Golden and Red lights hovered around Star and Marco.

Each step Marco and Star made from this point onward left small traces of red, yellow and pink. Spinning around joyfully, they made a ripple of magic swirl around them. Moon and River looked at awe; it was as if they saw themselves in their shoes.

Gently swaying, the music slowed down, Star staring deeply into Marco's eyes. She wondered how that much warmth could be radiating from two beings. Saying nothing, the two moved their heads closer together. "I can't believe we are this close...hehe…"

Marco said nothing, making the first move. Star felt lighting flow through her body, Marco's touch shocking her very heart. She matched back, sending similar magic through Marco. The two continued kissing, blissfully unaware of the large crowd watching them. As they let go, the red and golden light that shined above them grew burning bright, before fizzling away. Dust from the light trickled down, reflecting at the bowing couple of Star and Marco.

Loud claps echoed across the ballroom, everyone happy and joyful for the royal couple. Even Pony Head and a baffled Janna were celebrating. Star and Marco looked at one another lovingly, holding each other's hands as if nothing could pull them apart.

"Well isn't that cute."

Whoever said it, she was making sure everyone would hear it. Yelling wasn't needed; the tone of her voice was unignorable. Because of circumstances, there weren't many people in hall that could recognize that voice. Except for one person.

"No…" Moon's face shriveled in fear.

"What's the matter, Moon? Aren't you happy to see her your ancestor?"

"How could you…?"

"You mean that magical shield bubble? You didn't seriously think it would stop me, now did you? Still, it was nice to know that you did it just for me. I felt touched. Honored even."

"Who is she?" whispered Marco to Star.

"Who am I? Well, my boy, I'm-"

"Eclipsa!" Star finished the sentence in her place.

"Oh."

After she told her name out loud, a full blown panic commenced in ball hall. Everyone wanted to escape no matter what, but every door was closed.

"You really didn't have to do that, dear. I wanted to enjoy this moment and you ruined it for me. I don't like spoiled children."

With just a single hand movement, Eclipsa everybody froze and the light dimmed.

"Now, that's better, don't you think?"

"What did you do to them?!"

"Oh relax, they're fine. All that racket was simply too distracting. Besides, we don't need any of them for conducting our business."

"Other than blowing you out of the castle, there is nothing for us to discuss."

"Feisty! I like that. You remind me myself at your age."

"I'm nothing like you!"

"Is that so? Tell me, how many rules you broke during your training?"

"That's so not the point!"

Eclipsa smiled. "See? We are just like family."

"No one in here is your family."

"Yes, that much is true. Which is why I came here, actually."

Eclipsa reached with her hand behind her back a picked up her wand.

"How..? Your wand…?!"

"Pretty, isn't it?"

"You can't have a wand! I have a wand!" Start picked her wand from her dress. Eclipsa wasn't impressed by it.

"Ts-ts. Such lack of elegance. I can see now that your mother didn't give you proper education."

"Don't you dare talk about my mother!"

"Young lady, you need to learn how to talk to your grandmother!"

"You're nothing to me!"

"Is that so? Maybe I should remind you your place!"

A purple blast came out of her wand directly at Star. She used her own wand to deflect the beam, but in a room full of people it was a miracle it didn't hit anyone. Almost anyone.

"Well, what would you know. You almost killed your own mother! That's the spirit."

"I'll show you, you…"

"STAR! Are you out of your mind?! You'll kill everyone in here!"

Anger was fueling her rage, that was pushing her to go full blown Narwhal Blast against her predecessor. Marco's reasoning thankfully got through to her.

"Yeah, you're right. Hey, grandma! What was it you said about your family? I'm sure they'd welcome you with open arms, but you're kinda 300 years late!"

"You little…!"

Star grabbed Marco's hand and quickly moved to position with doors behind their back.

"DUCK!"

Another purple light went above their heads and blasted the doors into ashes.

"Not bad a for a 300 years old woman."

Marco's worries were palpable. "Star, what are you doing?!"

"Focusing her rage on me, so she won't go magic-happy on everyone else in here."

"I'm the one- Bah, forget it."

Eclipsa was burning from anger. "You dare to mock me?!"

"I'm trying to. I guess it was done differently in your era. How about 'you look ugly and stupid'?"

BLAST!

"Star, I think she is angry enough as it is!"

"Yep."

They both ran out of the ballroom. Before she lost her from her sight, she yelled back: "Catch us if you can, grandma!"

Thankfully, the preparations caused most servants to be near the Silver Bell Ball, so the farther they went, the emptier it got.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Marco, while trying gasp the air.

"I have one, of course."

"Let's hear it then."

"It's very complex. It'd take me too long to explain it."

"You don't have any plan, don't you."

"Nope."

"I was kinda hoping you'll have one."

"Me? What do you expect me to do against Eclipsa? Talk her to death?"

"Say, that's not a bad idea. Last time when you tried to explain to me how are nachos being made I almost fell asleep."

"Very funny."

"But we really need to come up with a plan."

"Can't you just do that 'rise from the death' trick again?"

"You mean dipping down? I told you before I have no idea how did I that."

While they were both running and trying to find good spot to hide, Marco suspiciously looked at Star.

"Oh don't give me that look! Even my mom didn't know-"

"Glossaryck!"

"Yeah, he would probably know-"

"No, Glossaryck!"

"Huh?"

Indeed, he was floating at the end of the hallway. It almost looked as if he was waiting for them. They both stopped and gazed in front of them.

"Hello, children."

"Glossy, is that… really you?"

"Well," he observed his hands, "that is still unclear to me. But I am really here. I'm not a ghost. As you know, ghosts don't exist."

"Oh Glossy! I missed you so much!"

Star grabbed him and started squashing him like a plush toy.

"Star! You're choking me! Air- Need-"

"Sorry, hehe. I got carried away."

"Kch-kch. As usual, Star, your emotions are getting the best of you."

"They helped me so far."

"Help is a such strong word in this case."

"Why I thought you'd be different now…?"

"I dunno, Star. Did you thought you'd be different know?"

"Oh great. Again with this mumbo jumbo."

"Star…?" Marco gently drawled her dress.

"What?!"

"I don't mean to ruin your moment, but we are still running from Eclipsa, remember?"

Star's reaction caught him by surprise. She raised his hand into air and was holding it there like a trophy.

"See? I have Marco." This revelation didn't seem to have any effect on Glossaryck. "We are dating now!"

Marco eyed his eyes. "Ughhhhh…"

"And I did it all by myself with my emotions."

"Uhm."

"You still don't believe me?!"

"Star, I didn't say a word this whole time."

"Now I see!"

"See what?"

"This is another of your mind games."

"My what?"

"You're trying to trick me again."

"Really, Star, sometimes I think your imagination is-"

"Don't you dare to say it!"

"-is taking the best of you."

"ARGH!"

Marco was now panicking. "STAR! SHE IS CLOSE!"

"Wha?"

Out of the blue, Glossaryck shoved Star out of the window. Marco couldn't believe his own eyes.

"Why did you that for?! Are you out of your mind?"

"Marco, my boy, I wish you luck. You're going to need it." After this words, he jumped after Star.

"WHAT?!"

The steps from behind were being dangerously closer. He can even smell her perfume.

"I need to get out of here!"

He wanted to continue running down the hallway, but just after few meters he was stopped by a rather small looking creature.

"Ah! What are _you_?!"

"That's classy, acting grossed up because you see a little troll."

"I don't have time for this!"

Marco wanted to go around him, which he did. The troll didn't even seem to be following him. Alas, this success was short lived, when after five seconds he went down like a rock.

Eclipsa appeared from behind the corner.

"Do you have him?"

"Yep. One exact hit with a rock into his head."

She looked down on Laar with suspicion.

"Whaaat? He's not dead! Rock this small can't kill Mewman. It was a clean shot."

"He isn't Mewman, idiot!"

"Huh?"

"I was watching him for some time and I noticed something off about him."

"Like what?"

"Stop being impertinent!"

"My apologies."

"Now, where is that young Butterfly?"

"I dunno. He was alone when he ran into me."

"I don't think she would just abandon her boyfriend like that. Something afoot is happening here."

"Like what?"

Her wand flew through the air and forcefully landed directly on his head.

"Like that!"

"I'll shut up, I'll shut up!"

"In any case, while I would enjoy making her life miserable, we have what we came for. Take the boy. We're leaving."

"Do I really have to drag him all by myself?!" _SMACK!_ "Okay-okay! Sheesh."

 **Chapter 9 was written and edited by Saokpe, Haunted Melon, Terepin and RK128.**


	11. Dreamscapes, Part 1 - Purple Haze

One would have thought that the awful smell of rotten food would wake him up. Nope. Then there was the cold and wet floor on which he was laying on for several hours straight. Not a chance. Or perhaps just the fact he was sleeping on his hand for the whole time. That was uncomfortable, yes, but ultimately meaningless. Because the true reason why he woke up was not the cellar itself he was in, but rather staring of a mysterious figure watching him from the shadowy corner.

"STAR!" The boy yelled from his diaphragm. "Whoa, where- Who-" He kept asking random questions while trying to make sense of his last memories. It took him a good while to calm down, but after that he had another reason to feel anxiety: those memories did not fit his new surroundings. And it wasn't even those that bothered him as much as the unnerving feeling that something wasn't right with this place. Coldness, humidity, twilight - all the regular stuff you would expect after being kidnapped. And yet, everything felt strangely… unalive.

"You took quite a long nap. I was worried that I hit you too much. Mewmens can take such a hit, but you…"

"Huh?" The presence of another person was slipping to his mind only very slowly; his nerves were still shot from the experience.

"Marco, is it? An interesting name. Doesn't sound like something from here. I'm curious, where did you come from?"

"What? I… uhm, I-I don't understand."

"Still disorientated, I see. Well, maybe this will jog his memory." The speaking silhouette calmly left the shadowy corner and stepped into the light.

His sight was still a little blurry, but he tried his best to identify the person standing over him. Thankfully his logical thinking wasn't affected so badly, so without taking any conscious action, he automatically started to assess it.

 _Well, for starters, it's a woman, so that's that. Looking at her face I'd say she is in her late thirties, no more. What's next… Uhm, she isn't very tall, maybe 160 centimeters or so? Huh, she isn't that much taller than I am. She has a British accent, so my guess would be she is a foreigner. Wait… Did I volunteer to take her on tour? She's a new teacher perhaps? Oh, derailing, you need to focus. What else do you see? Well, I uhm… The clothes! They look kinda funny. And old. Not their age, but their style. If I remember correctly, this was a thing in the 1920s. Huh, now that I think of it, I actually like that style. And she looks good in it too. Sooooo, what else do I see? What else, what e- STOP STARING AT HER CHEST, DAMMIT! That's not relevant! OK, arms. Still not helpful, but we're getting there. Wait a second, are those… her hands? They look… purple, dark purple to be exact. Almost black. WHOA!_

And just like that, as if some imaginary force kick-started his engine, all the information fell to their places and the image was crystal clear. And horrifying.

"ECLIPSA?!" Marco jumped to his feet, but thanks to the slippery floor he lost balance, fell down and hit his head. He was out once again.

Eclipsa couldn't believe her own eyes. "What just happened? Did he… Did he just did that? I have waited two days… for this?"

"I don't want to sound disrespectful, my queen, but you aren't exactly emanating welcoming warmth."

"That was a rhetorical question, Laar! But you might have a point. I think I'll go change my clothes to something more subtle."

"You will what now?"

"You have a problem with it?"

"I wouldn't dare, milady! It's just that…" Now he wasn't sure if he should finish his thought. "It's just that I never saw you in a different clothing. I didn't realize you even had different clothes."

"I'm giving you five seconds to take that back."

"I'm taking it back!"

"That's what I thought. Take care him while I go change."

"But my mistress, why are you keeping him here, in this dump? How do expect to gain his trust?"

"He's staying where he is because I do not know him."

"I don't follow."

"What else is new. He stays here because he isn't Mewmen. I'm not sure if my magic will have the desired effect on him. I can't risk his escape."

"How can you know he ain't Mewmen? He looks like one."

"He feels wrong."

"How wrong?"

"Stop bothering me with your stupid questions! I'm going to change, so lock him up and keep an eye on him."

"As you wish, milady."

Laar turned over to the motionless body. "What does she needs him for?"

It took him another day before he woke up again. He instinctively touched the spot on his forehead that he hit while trying to get away from Eclipsa. Whereas before he was confused, now he felt the most intense pain in his life: the one that a day old unattended injury sent down his body.

"That hurts!" His instinct was to check it again, resulting in a second wave of pain. "OK, stop doing that!"

He inspected the enclosing. "Well, looks like I'm still here, wherever here is. I'm still alive, if a bit damaged, so that's a plus."

He was in a lot better shape than before, so after he acquainted himself with the cellar, the memories hit him like a train wreck.

"The Ball. Star! Eclipsa!" The experience of seeing her for the first time engraved itself so deep within his mind, that even mentioning her name sent him down a spiral of crippling fear and anxiety. In this state he started to panic. Escape? Stay and fight? Stay and die? What to do? Where to go? He was alone with a maniac.

"I need to… calm down. Just breathe, breathe, you got this. This isn't the first time you got kidnapped. I'm sure Star will swoop in and rescue you in no time."

He truly believed in that. His eyes were watchfully gazing at closed doors. But they wouldn't move. No one was coming this time.

"So, that is… unfortunate. Guess I'm on my own then. This will be a piece of cake, right? I mean, I just need to open these locked doors and-"

He tried to turn the knob in hope that by some miracle the doors won't shut in their place. To his surprise, they weren't. Their creaky nose filled up the lifeless halfway behind them.

"Ooookay, so that just happened." He carefully peered through the narrow space. The hall was well lit and its light felt almost welcoming. Certainly far more welcoming than this weak light bulb in this stinking cellar.

Feeling that he had not much to gain by standing in there any longer, he dared to open the doors wide open. Their crying once again stuffed the corridor from top to bottom.

When he stepped outside, he sensed an accomplishment: he wasn't dead, yet, and it seemed that Eclipsa was nowhere near.

Or so he thought.

"Bravo! You managed to stand up and get out without throwing yourself back to sleep. It's an improvement."

Aaand his fragile emotional equilibrium went puff. "Wha-wha-wha." Monsters he could handle; they just looked scary and made scary noises. But a few well landed hits on their deformed bodies and they fell down like flies. But Eclipsa was a different thing entirely.

For starters, she wasn't a monster, so the moral certainty of his violent actions went down the river. Next, she was a woman. This created a moral dilemma in his mind. Would it be acceptable to hit her first as a preemptive strike? But the most important question was: would he survive it?

Another issue was her reputation; it wasn't just preceding her, her bony fingers were reaching across generations. Their roots running deep within Mewmen society. It doesn't matter what she really did. Everyone who remembered it first hand was long dead. Only the stories remained and each generation changed them a little, so the young ones would be afraid of her more and more.

That was the rational analysation of the situation at hand. But when you gave a living horror legend, all thoughts subside, until one single instinct remains - to survive.

Eclipsa saw the fear in his eyes. "Please, don't be alarmed. I know we didn't meet at the best time, but… The truth is… I am _lonely_."

That last word left her mouth like the sweetest candy. It smoothly glided to Marco and gently caressed his ears. But he stood unphased, as the paralysing fear had hold on him.

That left Eclipsa puzzled.

Laar was not. He saw her standing there speechless in that obscure construction she called her casual dress. He could swear that amount of textile on her had in fact doubled. Safe bet would be that this monstrosity strengthened his fear of her.

Eclipsa didn't seem to be realizing this. She truly was unsure of what she did wrong. Or maybe the fault wasn't in her, but in him? She felt since Silver Bell Ball that he wasn't a Mewman, but she wasn't sure what exactly he was. How would she approach him?

During the time she was standing there, trying to figure out how to proceed, a little bit of sense came back to Marco. He saw the window of opportunity and so he decided to take advantage of the staggered Eclipsa.

So he started running away from her.

"What? No. No! Laar, stop him!"

Laar had only a few seconds to come up with a way to stop a running person that was higher than himself by a head. As an excellent thinker, he tripped him. Marco wasn't aware of his presence, so he fell with his face down and hit a cabinet with a vase on top in full speed. The vase was no more. It was painful to watch.

"What did you just do?!"

"What do you mean? I stopped him."

"You didn't stop him, you incapacitated him! He is out cold again!"

"Well how else I was supposed to do it? If I just stepped in front of him, he'd run over me. Literally!"

"I'm this close to severing your head from your body!" Eclipsa was hissing at this point.

Alas, she didn't do it, because after a really long time she was focusing on someone else. All that Laar had to do was remain silent and wait. Instead, he said this:

"I still think he is harmless. I mean, he was kissing the princess and she didn't seem to mind."

When a person like Eclipsa goes through what she did, there were only a very few things that can set her off. Laar knew this, so from time to time he dared to tease her. He was too insignificant in her eyes anyways, so why should she bother doing anything serious to him. However this time he made the grave mistake of which he wasn't aware of.

"I AM NOT AFRAID OF HIM!" She grabbed him at his neck and raised him to her eyes level. "I'M AFRAID OF NO ONE!"

"I-believe-you!" Getting words out through his crippled neck was challenging.

"I WILL EVEN TOUCH HIM IF NECESSARY! I'LL…" She suddenly stopped yelling. "I'm not afraid to touch him… I am NOT afraid… to _touch_..." She dropped Laar like a bag of corn next to Marco. "Go away."

"Yes-kch-mistress." He only needed few seconds to vanish.

Her eyes were now fixed at _him_. Although annoying, Laar was right - why all the caution? She was… No, she IS Queen of Darkness. People are afraid of her, not the other way around. So why she is trying so hard to keep him at arm's length away?

There was he was, laying on the ground, cold - again - and completely at her mercy. He was suppose to be her instrument of pain. But how she could hope to achieve that when his fear of her was ruining her plan? This will need different approach. A direct one.

Even though still with doubts, she decided that it is time to stop trying to get him to get to her and turn this game around. All she had to do was to knee down to him and just touch his hands. Let it be damned that she knows nothing about him. The goal justify the means and the goal was within her reach. Just a simple touch of the hands and her plan will continue as planned.

So she kneed down to his motionless body and took her glow off of her hand. "Let's see…" She carefully grabbed his hand. The sensation she felt was almost forgotten to her. "Huh." Warmth emanating from his hand made her feel almost uneasy. "Now, tell me. What are you?" It was obvious she expected something happen, however Marco's body wasn't showing any signs of movement. Now she really felt uneasy. "That's not possible."

To her dismay - it was. It was only regular spell, but it should work; he was now supposed to be chirping like a bird. Alas, the only sound he was making was his breathing. She refused to accept failure, so she tried again. And as before, failed again.

"This doesn't make any sense! There are very few people who can resist me and little boy sure as hell ain't one of them. Talk to me! Tell me what I need to know!" Her loud filled the hall with heavy purple light. But the boy didn't seem to care. "Argh! How are you doing this?! You can't possibly possess magic strong enough to resist me!"

Eclipsa's thoughts hit full stop. One particular memory from Silver Bell Ball got her attention. "Unless…" She moved her hand over his body. This time she was looking for specific thing. Unfortunately for her, it was there: a dim red light came from his figure.

"This complicates things." She sighted. "I won't be able to do anything as long as _she_ is in there. Well, I could, but it'd get messy and I want your pretty face unscared." She lowered her head and gave him kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you sooner than you think."

"BAH! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Marco's plea was loud, but the addressee was long gone. The hallway was empty once again and not only from other persons - it was dark and cold and without any furniture. Actually, there was something extra which wasn't there before - webs. And dust. With a lot of different dirt. Fear quickly changed to confusion. "What- where- how?" And after that it swiftly changed back to fear. "I've had enough of this. I need to get out!"

It is said that there is a beauty in simplicity. And for the most part it is true. Unnecessary complications don't help to solve almost anything. Marco knew this. He liked simple things with simple solutions. But after he stood up and was standing in a dusty hall, uncomfortable truth knocked on his head: simplicity wouldn't help in this case.

He was alone, hurt, at an unknown place, with an evil witch, that had for an incomprehensible reason, great interest in him, with an ugly little guy as her pet. This situation was anything but simple. Star was the master at complicating things and he was an expert on fixing them.

This time he was on his own.

"Okay, so, I lived with a crazy princess for months. Surely I had to pick up something from her craziness. Right then, what she would do? Hmm. Well I guess she would just go out of here, right through all the monsters. Damit! I can't do that! She has her wand and I just my fists and while they are working great, I can't possibly defeat all the monsters. Phew. Fine, relax Marco, just think. You need to play it safe. Just… Pretend to be a little mouse. Don't make any sound and move swiftly out of here, wherever here is."

With self-induced confidence, he embarked on the quest of leaving this place with all his body parts intact. A bold plan that requires only a tiny bit of luck to succeed. _Yeah right._

The hall wasn't actually that long as he thought. It made sense. It leaded to the cellar, so why would anyone want to keep anything in here? Apart from an obvious choice - him. At the end of it were stairs leading up to a door. He planned to move silently, but the stairs were made from old wood and they were loud as heck.

"I swear, this house is about to become my arch enemy."

After the colorful orchestra of various creaky sounds he was creating the whole way up, he was unsure if whether opening doors was a good idea. With stairs screaming like hungry little birds, this obstacle could very well yell "HE IS HERE! HE IS HERE!". He didn't have much of a choice, though. It was either that, or digging out of there through solid stone.

He chose option A.

Thankfully, the doors didn't make a sound. _Thank god!_ Parquet under his feet were also silent. All in all, good progress! And neat too. He noticed that the dirt was gone and it was replaced by welcoming lights, elegant furniture, pretty carpets and… smell of baked cookies. With all the troubles he went through, he didn't realize how hungry he was. Really, REALLY hungry.

Against his own will, his body turned left and like a zombie he was following tasty aroma back to its source. His craving for food was stronger than his will to live. At some level deep down he tried to fight back, but it was pointless. Eventually even his rationalizing mind had to accept logical aspect of this behaviour: with empty stomach he wouldn't able to fight or run longer than for 15 seconds. He badly needed to recharge.

And the recharger was so close and so tasty. The kitchen, from which the smell was coming from, wasn't that far off. Just one turn left. And then he saw them. The most beautiful thing a hungry kid can see: freshly baked cookies. They were neatly ranked from smallest to biggest, with least chocolate to most. A pure symphony for the eyes.

"Here you are! I thought you went out again."

Marco didn't even bother to check to whom belonged that soft voice that was coming from behind. He just squat behind the desk and held his breath.

"What are you doing? I know you are there, I just saw you."

Even though he knew that, fear prevented him from moving a muscle.

"Oh, is this one of your games? I told you I'm not exactly a fan of them. And I need to clean the house before my parents come home. Which will be in less than two hours."

His heart was pumping blood like a horse on steroids. He couldn't keep his nerves in check for much longer.

"Here."

Out of the blue, she appeared next to him. If it was Eclipsa he would probably die from shock.

"I guess you couldn't wait for those cookies. Don't worry, I cooled this one."

He was looking at her pale hand. The cookie was his to take. Maybe he would think twice of doing that if his sanity wasn't heavily damaged. He grabbed it and ate it in a whole bite. Fortunately, she wasn't lying about cooling it down.

"There you go. What's up with you anyway? You look kinda dirty and… Is that a scar on your head? Marco! You were in the cellar again, weren't you? I told you to not go there. That part of the house wasn't renovated just yet."

He didn't dare to say anything. He just kept staring at her, asking himself in his mind: _Who is this girl?_ _What is this place? And how could those cookies taste so good?_

The smile on her face was only subtle, however when she looked into his eyes, it was gone completely. "Wait, is this… one of your episodes?"

Marco's crazy look gave her the answer without speaking up a single word.

"Oh, uh…" The girl started slowly backing away, making sure not to make sudden move. With that she was successful. Not so much with staying silent. She stepped on a toy in her wake and fell down. Made a lot of racket.

Marco saw his window. He started running away as fast as he could.

"No! I'm sorry, I didn't know! Marco! Don't run away from me! Please!"

He couldn't focus on her heartbreaking calling, nor he cared. She was just a stranger to him. Although somewhat familiar. Like this house. Its architecture had a striking resemblance to something Earth once had, in the early 20th century. It was fascinating for sure, but even more fascinating was the fact that his mind was capable of flooding his brain with this useless information while he was trying to get out.

After every turn he made, he expected a bunch of monsters. But they never appeared. In fact, no one ever showed up. Only the girl was desperately trying to reach him, which made him double his effort to escape. What was he escaping though? The memories began to blur somehow, making him unsure of his own actions. He didn't feel threatened by this place anymore. It was neatly done, warm, friendly even. So why he was really running?

His eyes stumbled upon entry doors. Finally! He could escape Eclipsa! She wouldn't get him this time. He ran right through them, which wasn't the brightest idea he ever had. It hurt a lot and he tripped down from the stairs, which hurt even more. He suppressed the pain and kept running away.

"MARCO! DON'T GO IN THERE! I CAN'T FOLLOW YOU!"

That's exactly what he needed to hear. He wanted to get as far as possible. And this thick forest was the best place to hide.

It was thick alright, with nothing more than trees and bushes. And then some more trees. And that would be the summary. And grass. Lots of grass. The terrain was as complicated as you would expect from such a savage place, which drained his strength a lot more quicker than a jog through the noble house. He had luck though, when he reached a clearing with nothing but a vast green carpet. He felt safe here.

"Marco? Is that you?"

He knew that voice. He knew it very well.

"Star?" And there she was, standing as a beacon of hope. "You found me! I knew you would! Eventually."

He wanted to give her a hug, but she stopped him. "I missed you too, but… You smell awful."

"Oh. Yeah, that. Well, my accommodations weren't exactly luxurious."

"I can see that. And… smell. What happened to you?"

"You mean this scar? I'm not sure. I think Eclipsa held a grudge against me."

"Why?"

"Beats me. Look, it's great seeing your beautiful face after all I went through, but we have to get out of here."

Star never saw Marco so scared. His voice was shaking and cracking. "What happened to you?"

"I'll tell you everything, I promise, but we really need to go away from this place."

"Nah, it's okay. I have my wand back, remember?"

"Yes, I do. And do you know what else I remember? Eclipsa having her own wand. And she has twice as much experience as you have."

"What a boyfriend you turned out to be."

"Star, we don't have time for this. We need to-"

"There you are!" A figure in a dark green coat with a hoodie was standing at the edge of a tree line. "Thank Skywynne you didn't go further. I'm risking it enough as it is. I- who are you looking at?"

"Marco, who is this?" Star's voice had a hint of jealousy.

"I have no idea, but she was following me all the way here. She must be working for Eclipsa!"

"Oh really…" Star's wand started to glow.

"You see her again, don't you? Marco, listen to me carefully. She is _not_ real, OK? She is not there, she isn't talking to you. It just… Listen, I'll explain everything you want to know, but I beg you - come with me right now." She raised her hand to him. "I- No, _we_ need you. I can't do this alone."

For some reason he genuinely thought about accepting her offer. Star however had different plans.

"I got this, Marco." She lifted her wand and yelled "NARWHAL BLAST!" The wand was glaring like a 1000 W light bulb, but nothing came out of it. "That's weird."

"It's broken again? Now?!"

"I don't see why it should be. Let me try again: NARWHAL BLAST!"

"It isn't working, Star!"

"I can see that."

He gazed at the girl in the hoodie. She didn't seem very evil.

"I know you are scared. I am scared too. And that's understandable. But we both agreed we would go through with it and I'm not going to allow you to run away from it, from _us_. Don't you understand? I… I… Argh! I still can't say it! But you have to believe me, it is true!" Her voice was now shifting from decisive to just plain begging. "Stay with me!"

"I heard enough from this crazy chick. Come!"

Star firmly grabbed Marco's hand and started to drag him away. At this point he had his doubts if this was the correct course of actions. But the figure was getting smaller and feeling Star's soft skin reminded him the dance at the Ball. He'd certainly liked to repeat that experience.

The girl in the hoodie was nervously faltering, trying to determine which of two decisions she was about to make was the lesser evil. Before she completely lost him in her sight, she shouted "The ring, Marco! Check the ring!" She wasn't sure if he heard her, but it was her only hope.

The pair was running between trees like a knife through butter. Or at least Star was; Marco could barely stand on his own feet and he was meeting several trees way too closely for his own comfort.

"Star! Wa- ouch! Slow down! I can't… keep up! I didn't … eat… in days!"

"This place really did a number on you."

"No kidding."

"LEVITATO!" She raised him above ground and kept pulling with her like a balloon.

"Now this is just humiliating."

"Will you stop with that already? I can't focus."

"Sorry."

He couldn't tell how far they went. This forest was like a copy of a copy of itself. All the same trees and in the same configuration in every direction. Other than sound of cracking wood beneath Star's foot, it was dead silent.

"What kind of forest is this?"

"I dunno. I was never here before."

"Then where are you taking us then?"

"Away from her."

"That's nice and all, but don't you have some kind of plan?"

"You do realize you're talking to me, right?"

"Good point. But still, you have to have at least some idea of where we are heading."

"That I do."

"Great!"

They ran several more meters before he dared to ask her again.

"And?"

"And what?"

"And where are we heading?"

"Boy, you are annoying. To the general direction of Mewni. Satisfied?"

"Not really."

"OK, that's it!" She abruptly stopped and let Marco fall on the ground. "That witch apparently did a lot more than just not feeding you."

"What do you mean?"

"Your constant gibbering about 'what are we going to do,' and 'where are we going' and 'shouldn't I be wearing seatbelts'? I had it enough, Marco! I spent weeks trying to find you and now that I finally have you, you sound like you don't even want to get away."

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course I wanted to escape! I still do. With you."

"No, Marco. I don't believe you. This… you being so cautious - this isn't you."

"Star. Hello! Safety boy, remember?"

"Oh. So suddenly you care about safety?"

"I always cared about safety!"

"You didn't when we came to my room after the Ball."

Marco's face immediately turned into bright red. "We never went to your room. _I_ never was in your room. I don't even want to go there!"

That last sentence obviously hurt Star. "So, that's how it is."

"What how is? Star, after we kissed, we were running from Eclipsa for as long as we could, but eventually she found us and then she kidnapped me."

Her voice got suddenly silent. "She obviously did a lot more than that." A deep sigh came out of her mouth. "Look, that looks like a nice spot. We can rest there for a while. I'll just make two tents. Hold on." To his surprise, wand now worked like a charm. "There. I'll take the right one."

"Star…"

"Good night, Marco."

In a matter of seconds, she disappeared inside tent she just created. The other one was waiting for him. _What just happened?_ With nothing else to be said or done, he too crawled into tent.

To his surprise, it was neatly done. He kinda expected to find a huge room in it, for whatever reason. But it was just a regular tent, if just a bit more cushy. And he needed cushy more than anything. The moment he laid down on those soft pampering pillows, his body could finally turn off and just rest.

He really needed that rest. After all the beating and running he endured, he deserved every second of comfortable sleep. However that comfy part left the tent soon after he fall asleep.

He had the most intriguing dream. It was back Mewni, in the castle, with a lot of decorations. Everyone was congratulating him, although he just wasn't sure to what exactly. Maybe that black tuxedo was a hint, if Star didn't wake him up.

"Marco? Marco! Wake up!"

"Wa- Uhm, what? Star? What's happening?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Is something wrong?"

"I- Sigh, what are we, Marco?"

"What do you mean?"

"Our relationship, silly."

"You mean… friendship?"

This response obviously saddened her. "No."

"Don't get me wrong, Star. That kiss at the Silver Bell Ball was something. And you were so beautiful and charming in that dress."

"But…?"

"But if you are asking about our romantic relationship, then I'd have to answer - I do not know."

"I see."

"Oh come one, Star! Don't give me sad puppy eyes! You know I care about you. And besides, how I am suppose to know what our future holds?"

Star's emotions were holding together by a thread now. "You told me that before, in the morning, after we-"

"For the last time, Star, we did NOT slept together! We danced, we kissed and then Eclipsa-"

Star's eyes started to fill with tears.

"Star? No. No! Star, don't you dare to cry on me…"

But it was too late. She ran out of tent with sobbing sounds leaving behind.

"Jesus, Diaz! Why can't you just keep your mouth shut and just say what she wants to hear? Star!" He peeked outside. Star's tent was open and empty. "Oh-oh. Uhm, Star?" _So calling her by her name for 20th time wasn't working, so try something else maybe?_ "Honey?" _Ugh! That sounds even worse! Just go get her!_

He checked the surroundings all around both tents. It was quite hard to notice anything in forest during night. Thankfully this place was still dead silent, so he could hear everything that wasn't suppose to be there. That included footsteps of running person. He started to run that direction, completely ignoring the voice inside his body telling him that 30 minutes long sleep was way far away from sufficient recovery time. Although fatigue did come really fast, he decided to ignore it. Star was too important for him to just let her go. Furthermore, he was alone-

 _HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!_

-in forest in the middle of the night.

 _HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!_

He dead stopped the moment he heard it.

"What the-"

It sounded like howling. Only in the most unnatural, creepy way. As if the someone decided to run a completely normal howling through a dozen of chorus and reverb effects and didn't know when to stop. The result of this unholy distortion was a sound that drilled inside skull and kept resonating there for another minute after the actual sound was gone.

He sensed death lurking around him.

Without any warning, a sound of crackling wood came from behind his back. He swiftly turned around. It was Star. She was standing turned back to him.

"S-Star? Did you hear that? W-We need to go."

 _HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!_

She didn't answer, nor moved. Her stiff body was now more scary than the approaching noise around him. After she turned her face to him, that horrifying sound was like a lullaby compared to what was standing in front of him.

"Are you… Okay?" A valid question, considering her pupils were fully dilated. And she didn't seem to be breathing. "Sweet pea?" _Yes, that sounds right._

The answer Star gave him wasn't the one he expected. Although the truth was he didn't know what to expect in this situation. Her arms sprung forward, her mouth opened wide to almost impossible size, and while that hunting howling was previously coming from all possible directions, now it was focused into single source: the black hole between her lips. Somehow she managed to say one single word: "HEART!", after which she jumped on him.

"AAAAAA!" Marco woke up covered in sweat. He was shaking like crazy, unable to stop.

"Marco!" Star dramatically open the tent, which resulted into Marco's another shock.

"BAH!"

"My apologies, I didn't want to startle you. I heard you screaming from sleep. Was it nightmare?"

Marco nodded, still heavily breathing.

"It's fine, I'm here now. I can stay for a while if you want."

"N-No. I'll… get around." He swiped the sweat off his face. "I'll manage. I just need to calm down."

"So you don't need me?"

"No, I-" Out of nowhere, a strong feeling of deja vu flew through his body.

"So I see."

"Uh, what I meant to say is that you can stay with me."

"A bit late, don't you think?"

"I'm still little dazzled from all of this."

"I don't think it's that. I think Eclipsa did something to you."

"You might be right. I mean, I don't remember very much. Which is really weird, becau-"

"HA! I got you!"

"What?"

"It was a test!"

"A test? A test of what?"

"You. If you really were just confused, you would want me to stay with you no matter what. But the moment I mentioned Eclipsa, you used her as an excuse."

"Not this again…"

"Gasp! You… You like her."

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"Your mouth is saying no, but your cheeks burning in red speak louder."

"Oh for the love of- Will you stop that already?!"

"Oh I'll stop alright. Right now. With you." After these words, she left him alone, with all the awkwardness she created.

"What is wrong with her?!"

Marco left his tent and looked around. It didn't seem like she ran away. The most obvious reason for this conclusion was the sobbing coming from the second tent. So unless it had its own personality, Star had to be inside.

And she was.

"Star, we need to have a serious talk."

The princess wasn't sobbing anymore. Or anything else for that matter. Her body was stiffly sitting on the ground without making any sound whatsoever. This scene was uncomfortably familiar.

"Sweet pea?"

As an award for this display of affection, her head slowly made a 180° turn while her body was glued to a fixed posture. At least her eyes looked normal. That was, until the pupils began to slowly dilate in conjunction with her opening mouth. A pitch black was staring at him once again. This time however, there wasn't any awful howling. Instead, he heard whispering. Barely noticeable at first, he eventually identified a one single word: heart. It was constantly repeating in a loop and in each new loop it got louder. And louder. And louder. And-

"GIVE ME YOUR HEART!" she jumped at him.

"AAAAAA!" Marco woke up covered in sweat. "What just happened?! Was I dreaming?" He suspiciously looked around. "Am I still dreaming? Maybe if I pinch myself… AU! It hurts alright. Phew! Never before I had a dream within a dream. Or in this case, a nightmare within a nightmare." Something is his head was still making him feel nervous. "Maybe I should check on Star."

After he left his own tent, he just stood there in awe; the other one was gone.

"What the… What is going on in here?!"

"There you are!" Star's angry voice impaled his back. "This was the last straw!"

Marco made swift pirouette. She was standing there covered just in sheet. "How did you…? Where were you…?"

"I wanted to look past our issues, but to speak her name during our special time together…!"

"Are you… naked under that?"

"I won't fall for your games anymore. You moaned her name!"

Marco's mind was very close to total failure. Nothing and no one made sense anymore.

He covered his face in facepalm. "Star, you have to help me. Something's very wrong."

"That's right."

Her cold voice caught him by surprise. "Huh?"

The trio of black pits were only centimeters from his face.

"YOU STILL DIDN'T GIVE ME YOUR HEART!" She leached on his face.

"AAAAAAH!" Marco was done for. "MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOOOOP!" Panic took over him, preventing him from noticing he was standing on the ground. Both tents and Star were nowhere to be found.

"What are you?!" he shouted into the night.

 _HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!_

"What do you want from me?!"

 _HEAAAAART! TASTY HEAAAAART!_

Right in front him, trees started to fall down one after another. Whatever it was, it was coming for him. Fear, or no fear, the basic instincts kicked in and forced him to run in the opposite way. Not once he dared to turn around to see the creature that desired his heart so much. He was focused to make the distance between them as big a possible. But the constant stress robbed him of the last energy reserves he had left. It was obvious that soon his vital organ would end up on a dinner plate.

Luckily, just before his legs gave up entirely, he noticed a cavern entrance. He changed his heading towards it like a magnet. It wasn't too far, so he entered in just a few seconds. Unfortunately the cavern itself was very short with no other exit other than the one he just used. It was a death trap.

 _I CAN SMELL FEAR SIPPING OUT OF YOUR HEART! I HAVEN'T FEASTED ON SUCH DELIGHTFUL MEAT IN A LONG TIME!_

Heavy footsteps were getting closer to his position. He couldn't do anything but just wait for his inevitable fate.

"Marco!" Out of nowhere, a figure in a green coat and a hoodie was standing in the cavern's entrance. "I couldn't find you anywhere! I was afraid I lost you!"

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! I WON'T GIVE YOU MY HEART!"

"Marco, it's me!"

Marco looked like a wreck; covered in sweat, dirt, with uncontrollable shaking and death in his face. "STAY AWAY FROM ME, OR I'LL KILL YOU!" The cavern was enhancing his yelling, resulting in a truly terrifying sound.

"Oh boy. You haven't been this bad since we met." She made a step forward. Marco, as expected, made one back. She carefully raised both of her hands. "Look. I'm not here to hurt you. Whatever is that you see - it isn't real. That girl you were talking to - Star - she also wasn't real. I am. And I risked my life to get to you. You have to believe me."

She was trying her best to sooth his nerves. But Marco could only focus on that deformed thing standing right behind her.

 _I LIKE MY HEART WHILE IT'S STILL WARM! AND I'M COMING TO GET IT!_

Marco's voice was now just a gibberish made of squeeking, crying and mumbling. It was obvious his body wouldn't withstand this stress for much longer.

The girl was now in a precarious situation she never faced before. He always had his episodes before, but never liked this. With her inability to express deep feelings, she knew that no words would help him at this point. However there was one last hope.

"The rings! Marco, look at your left hand! Look at it!"

The boy was totally out. She had no chance but to risk it and made a quick jump to him before he could do anything. She grabbed his hand and took down his golden ring.

"Look! Focus on the ring, Marco!"

In the last moments of his life, she got his attention.

"Do you see the engraving? Do you see it, Marco?!" She started to be a bit angry. "It says 'From Karin, a girl who's heart you saved.' I have the same, see? Mine's says 'From Marco, a boy to which you're a beacon of light.' Do you understand? DO YOU?!" A small tear dripped from her eye. "We are married for just 2 months and I'll be damned if I'll allow you to make me a widow at my 16! I won't allow it! You hear me? I WON'T!"

It is said that a person pushed to extremes is capable of miracles to save themselves. However, a person watching their soul mate dying is capable of a lot more than that. For the first time in her life, she looked into the deepest and darkest corners of her soul. Between all that blackness and sorrow, there was a little spark buzzing around. After her illness, it got lost and never managed to find its way back to where it belongs. She was there to get it back home.

The girl now knew what was needed to be done. She closed her eyes…

 _I'M HEEEEEEEEERE!_

...and formulated three words she was never able to say before: "I… LOVE… YOU!"

She gently, but firmly grabbed his nape with one hand and on his back with another. He was locked in her embrace.

"I should've done this on our wedding day."

Her eyelids fell down and she let her spark to do the talking. And it was a heavy talk. The kissing that commenced wasn't just a mere form of affection. It was an eruption of long time suppressed desires that finally had their chance to run free, a wife's desperate attempt to save his spouse.

For a few seconds, this affectionate physical display was only one sided. It took Marco several seconds to allow himself to forget about the hideous creature reaching for his heart and let this girl to snatch it instead. Once his eyes closed, all the sound around him subsided and only her heavy breathing beset his ears. It was a beautifully wonderful symphony. He pushed her so close to him that not a single air molecule couldn't fit between them.

Karin now fathomed what it genuinely meant to be in love. An overwhelming surge of arousement flew throughout her entire body. She couldn't control her impulses, nor she wanted to. This was what she dreamed of to experience ever since she accepted her love for him. But it wasn't enough. She craved more. His entire being had to belong to her.

Like a bag of corn, they hit the floor. It was wet, dirty and cold. However none of that mattered. They were in perfect sync with each other and were clear on what needed to be done. It was an inevitable conclusion. With both hoodies forcefully coming off, the more fragile clothing beneath them couldn't stand a chance in their desire to become one. Nothing could possibly stop them.

Except for one thing.

"No. Stop," said Karin while having trouble to gasp air.

"What's wrong? You don't want it?"

She released a hot air from her lungs. "I do. You have no idea how much I do want that. But not in here."

"Where else then? Your parents' house is out of the question."

Karin looked surprised at him. "You… remember?"

Marco smiled. "A little bit. It's slowly coming back to me, though. Like: your name is Karin, you are my wife for two months now. And three days. And twelve hours and…"

"Okay, okay, hehe. I believe you."

"Wow."

"What?"

"You laughed."

"Huh. I suppose I did. Do you want me to stop?"

"What, laughing?"

"Uhm. I'm not sure I'm doing it right."

He gently caressed her face. "That smile makes you more beautiful than ever. Which is quite an accomplishment, considering you already were the prettiest girl in whole Mewni."

Karin smiled again, but this time she felt a strange burning sensation. Marco couldn't believe in his own eyes.

"No way!"

"What? Is something wrong with me? I feel kinda weird. I'm not sure I like it."

"HAHAHAHAHA! Nothing is wrong. You're just blushing."

"I am?"

"Oh yes. And now even more. You're so damn cute I want you so badly right now."

"Nice try, but the answer is still no. Can't you wait until we get back home?"

"Hey, don't try to blame this on me. This is totally your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yes! You started it!"

"Excuse me?"

"Hehehehe, I'm just joking."

"Very funny. Come on, we need to go. My parents are probably already home. And I'm not looking forward to having a discussion with them."

They both started to pick their smudgy things from the ground. Only now did Marco notice this thick and heavy coat she was wearing the whole time.

"Hey, uhm, why did you have this autumn coat with you? It's only September. It's a bit chilly out here, I admit, but this is an overkill. Are you sick?"

Karin was obviously surprised by this question.

"Uhhhhhm, yes?"

"Is it serious? Should I carry you back to the house?"

"Oh no. It's fine, really. I just didn't want to risk getting fever."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now stop worrying about me so much. You're the one who was about to die."

"Don't remind me. I'm still having shivers from it. I mean, I had a lot of live nightmares, but that was just brutal."

"What did you see?"

"You don't want to know. Heck, even I don't want to know. Though… I'm having trouble remembering…"

"What is it?"

"I think it had a form of a girl, but I can't quite put my finger on her appearance."

"Maybe that's a good thing."

"Maybe… No, you're right. I just wish I could forget everything from this night."

"You will, in time. Believe me. Well, shall we go then?"

Marco grabbed her hand. "Together."

She smiled. "Together."

When they left the cavern, Marco felt like a new person. A more happy person, with a purpose in his life. That purpose had a name and he intended to make it his life's goal.

The forest was now filled with lots of different sounds, from wind rustling leaves on trees, to birds and owls singing into the night. The air was fresh and the sky crystal clear, with a red moon rising on the horizon. But before it could reveal its full form, heavy purple clouds covered it.

Karin was looking at the whole show. "Nice try."

"Did you say something?"

"No. I was just thinking out loud."

Her parents just got home. Their servants were moving heavy bags inside the house, while mothers of both of them were standing by.

"I was afraid of this," said Karin.

"What now?"

"I'm thinking."

They were both hiding behind the bush. They felt confident that no one would be able to spot them even so close.

"Karin?"

They were wrong.

"Oh-oh."

"How did she find us?!"

Her mother was really tall, so a low bush would be a problem to hide two small kids, let alone two teens. Karin knew that, but for some reason she didn't take it into account.

"Uhm, hello mother."

"What are you doing outside?! You know those things are lurking inside the forest, especially during nights! What were you doing out there?!"

They both looked at each other in hope the other would save this situation by saying something clever. They had nothing. So naturally they felt incredibly lucky when her mother suddenly started to smile.

"Hold on." Her mother turned to Marco's mom. "Tria, come here, quickly!"

"What is it?"

"Look at their clothing."

Which each passed second, her smile was getting wider. And after Tria noticed them kneeling next to each other, she started to smile as well.

"Aren't they cute?" continued Karin's mother.

"Very! They remind me when I was at their age. I bet it was Marco's idea!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Karin can be very persuasive when she wants something. Or someone."

"Hihihi."

Only now they understood what were their mothers talking about.

"Mother!"

"Oh, don't be so snippy at me. I'm actually glad you're caring so much about each other. You know what? I'll try to talk to your father to give you your own room. We can't allow you running out to the forest with your condition."

That last word got Marco's attention.

"What condition?"

Karin got nervous.

Both mothers looked at each other.

"Marco, my boy, do you feel alright?"

Only a miracle could save her now.

"Honey!"

"Dad! Oh no!"

"No worries, my dear. I'll keep him busy. Tria, to go back to your post, so he won't get suspicious. You two, once I leave the scene with your father, quietly run into the house."

"Honey, where are you?"

"You all know what to do. Now go!"

She stepped outside of the shadow to greet his husband.

"There you are. What were you doing in there?"

"Just observing our beautiful garden."

"Well, I'm not sure if that particular spot is beautiful, but if you like it, I'm glad."

"Actually, I wanted to discuss something with you."

"Oh?"

"Let's take a walk around and I'll tell you. But you must promise to not get angry."

"Is this about the cellar again? I told you before-"

"Just listen for a while and come."

With Tria and Karin's parents out of the picture, the path to the house was open.

"What about the servants?" asked Marco.

"Nevermind them."

They both ran as smoothly as they possibly could. Luckily, her father wasn't anywhere near, so they made it inside without detection.

"Okay, Marco, we need to go to our rooms, wash ourselves, change clothes, go to bed, and pretend to sleep. My parents will be back very soon and there is no way my father can find out that we are awake, let alone we were outside."

"It's still a bit hazy for me, but aren't we married?"

"I'll explain it later."

"But…"

She gave him a goodnight kiss. "I'll miss you too. Now go!"

He saw how lightly he ran up the stairs. Exhausted, he dragged his body up too.

When Marco layed his eyes on the big comfy bed, he felt relieved. Finally, his beaten body and mind could both have the rest they needed so badly. If only he could fall asleep. With so many things happening in just a short time period, his mind was trying to heal itself by overthinking every insignificant detail it could think of. But the biggest mystery for him was why he went outside to begin with? Was it because of his living nightmare? But if that's the case, why he did find it so complicated to recall what he was doing before the incident?

It was obvious he wouldn't get any sleep during this night, so he decided to risk it and went down to the kitchen to steal some cookies. He found out he wasn't the only one with the same idea. Someone beat him to it when almost half of the cookies were gone already. Finding the thief wasn't that hard; he could very clearly hear the chewing. It was coming from the living room next to the kitchen. He should've just silently walked back to his bedroom, but something made him curious enough to risk it. Like a little mouse, centimeter by centimeter, he was moving towards the source of smacking. Whoever it was, he was fully enjoying his late night snack.

"Karin?" She was laying on a sofa with a book in her hand and eating cookie after cookie.

"Marco? What are doing up in the middle of the night?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"I asked first."

"Fair enough. My mind just can't stop working even when it's tired."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Oh well. Can I have some of the cookies?"

"Uhm…"

Having a mind that notices even the smallest details can have its perks. This was the moment when it paid off. He noticed a plate full of cookies and a glass full of juice. This wasn't exactly the kind of food you'd want to eat during night, unless you decided to run a few kilometers around the gardens. Still, she might just have been really hungry after that little adventure. But then he noticed she was holding her book above her belly. She could put it down anywhere, but she was holding it at that one specific spot.

Karin saw where he was looking.

"My eyes are up here."

He was reaching a conclusion. Only one piece was missing from this scene. _We can't allow you running out to the forest with your condition._ Wait… is she…?

"Karin, are you… pregnant?"

Now that she was able to express a bit wider variety of emotions, her face reflected worries with uncertainty.

"Would it be a problem if I said yes?"

"No!" He kneeled to her. "Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"Well, your memory still isn't fully back to normal. I was afraid that-"

"That I would freak out?"

"Yeah."

"I'm in a little shock, that's true. But I love you! And this is a reason to love you even more!"

"You're saying that now, but what if you'll lose your memory again and-"

Marco kissed her to ease her worries. "It won't happen again, I promise."

"How can you know that?"

"Because we are having a baby! I wouldn't run away from that! I may be only 14, but this ring on my hand clearly shows that we have a long history together. Isn't it true?"

She nodded her head. She was unable to answer, because the speech he was giving her made her feel… excited.

"I _will_ get all my memories back, don't worry. We'll be one happy family. You'll see."

And right then, she believed him.

"Also, is this the reason why you didn't want to have… you know… back in the cave?"

"Uhm."

"Huh. Then I guess I'll just have to believe it was a beautiful night when we conceived him until my memories are restored."

Karin saw disappointment on his face. She sat and grabbed his hand.

"She."

"What?"

"When we conceived _her_. It's a girl."

"You know that already?!"

"We have a… secret way to determine the sex of the baby very early on."

She lifted book and put his hand on her belly.

"Hey. It's already growing? How come I didn't notice it before?"

"Well, you were scared when you first met me. Outside I had a thick coat on me. And in the cave I was leaning so that you wouldn't notice."

"Oooooh."

While he was gently stroking her tummy with pure fascination, Karin was waiting if he would ask that one question.

"Uhm, I feel super awkward to ask this, but, did we pick a name for her?"

"Yes, we did. Marco, say hello to Corona."

"Corona… I like that name!"

"I can imagine. It was your idea."

"Mine?"

"Uhm."

"Hi! I'm your daddy. I'm looking forward meeting you in person."

"She can't hear you just yet, silly."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. One more thing."

"Which is?"

"I asked my mom about our, erm, marital duties during my pregnancy and she said it's fine, as long as we'll be careful..."

The light in living room was dim, but Marco noticed how were her cheeks were glaringly red. He looked into her purple eyes. "You know what? I will go to my bedroom after all."

"Oh."

"With you."

The spades on her cheeks started to glow too.

She left everything as it was and together they went upstairs to his room.

The garden was covered in a light purple haze.

Laar was watching Eclipsa sitting next to the bed where Marco was lying for an hour now. Both looked like they were sleeping. What he couldn't understand was why she needed him standing there. It's not like he was guarding her. So why then? Did she expect him to turn into some kind of monster? Or worse, maybe she thought the boy would die and he would have to drag his body and bury him.

His train of thoughts was interrupted when Eclipsa regained consciousness. She took a deep breath and looked at the sleeping Marco.

"It is done."

"What is?"

"You'll see." She bent to the sleeping boy and smoothly spoke. "Marco, sweetheart, wake up."

Marco slowly opened his eyes. A purple glow was emanating from them. When he noticed Eclipsa, he smiled.

"Good morning, sweet pea. Did you sleep well?"

"After what you did to me during last night, I could barely get back to my own room."

"Hehe, I'm sorry if I was overenthusiastic."

"Thanks to you I slept like a rock."

"Wait." Marco started to look around his room.

"What is it?"

"How come you are back in my room? Wouldn't your father find you here?"

"Nah. He went out hunting. He won't be back for a couple of hours."

"Really? Huh. In that case, do you have time for about, I dunno, an hour…?"

Laar couldn't believe his own eyes and ears. What was happening in front him was unbelievable. It was hard enough trying to understand how she made him so obedient, but the way she was talking to him was simply unreal. And deeply disturbing.

"Laar."

"Yes, mistress?"

"We are going to need some privacy. Leave us."

"B-But milady…"

"Don't make me to repeat myself."

"Yes, mistress. I understand."

He closed the doors and left.

 **Chapter 11 of The Hidden Truth was written by Terepin and edited by Haunted Melon.**


	12. Dreamscapes, Part 2 - Whispers

_**4 YEARS AGO**_

The Fangus Forest. It was, perhaps, the only forest in all of Mewni that not only wasn't scary during night, but was also peaceful at any time of the day and in any weather. You could take a walk through it even during the deadliest storm with trees wildly moving in strong wind at midnight and you'd still feel like you were at grandma's house while she was baking your favorite cookies. This unique property was being used by nearby villagers for centuries for hunting and gathering. Recently, however, all of that was prohibited by royal decree and the village was basically cut off from their prime source of raw materials. But it wasn't all gloom and doom.

The royal family went through hard times when the princess got seriously ill and the chances of her survival were slim. With the help of the High Commission she got better, but not without consequences. The illness left a mark on her soul and she wasn't able to reciprocate emotions of any kind. As it turned out, this was a much bigger problem than everyone thought. She simply didn't care about anything or anyone, herself included. They realized that the moment she set her own room on fire and stayed inside simply because she was curious about how it felt. As expected, it was painful, but neither the pain nor the look into death's eye caused an emotional response. She was dead inside. Literally.

No magic could help her, so it was decided that she needs a calm and peaceful place where, hopefully, she would recover. The Fangus Forest's tranquility was legendary and it was the only place that had any chance of fixing her condition. So it was decided that the whole place would be off-limits for anyone but royal family. The old lady living deep within its bowels was evicted and given a brand new house near the palace. Her house was then rebuilt and enlarged, so that the princess could have enough space to wander.

And it seemed enough, at least for a while. But soon after they moved in, her boredom was making her careless and, on more than one occasion, she almost killed herself. The king and queen knew that returning to the castle was out of the question, but they couldn't possibly attend to their own daughter 24/7. Someone still had to run the kingdom. The solution to this problem was the recruitment of maids from nearby village that knew this place well and could provide the young heir any necessary attention and needs.

* * *

Their caravan was slowly moving on the forest road without any interruption. The scenery was like from a fairytale: the breeze was gently moving leaves in tree crowns, birds were singing their songs and the adjacent river was silently pushing water to the great unknowns.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Marco?"

The boy looked at his mother, sitting next to her on the last carriage.

"Why do we have to go there?"

"I told you: the queen and king requested our help. The princess is not feeling well and while they'll be at the castle, we will be taking care of their daughter."

"I understand that. What I'd like to know is why _I_ have to go with you."

"Because I'm not leaving a 10 year old boy without supervision."

"I'm not a little boy anymore! I can take care of myself."

She smiled. "You mean like the last time when you were trying to cook a simple soup for yourself? You burned your hand."

"That was an accident. One which I didn't cause."

"Uhm."

"Mom!"

"You're going with me and that's final."

"What will I even be doing there? It's just an old stinking house."

"They started to renovate it. Last I heard it wasn't finished yet, so you can explore its old parts. Sounds good?"

"Hmpf, I guess. But what about that girl?"

"You mean the princess? What about her?"

"Do I have to be with her all the time?"

"Not at all. It will be our job to keep her occupied."

"I see."

"What was that?"

"Huh? What was what?"

"You sounded disappointed."

"I did not!"

"Sure you didn't. Look, Marco, you have plenty of time for girls. Besides, in this case I wouldn't allow it. I was lucky enough when the queen agreed with me taking you along. If she found out about your courtship, we'd be send back immediately. With severe consequences in tow no doubt. Better not to take it personally. It's just the way things are. She is royalty and you are not."

"I didn't say I wanted to date her! I was just curious, that's all."

"I'm your mother, Marco. I know you. Anyway, we are almost there. With any luck you'll be able to see her."

"I don't care."

"Right."

The boy had focused his sight on the road in front of them. The old house was that far away from village, so he should see it any second now. Right behind that corner. Or perhaps was it the next one?

" _Mom, wasn't the house supposed to be in front of us now?" He was trying to figure out what was in front of the caravan, but all he could see were trees surrounding the road that didn't seem to be ending anytime soon. "Mom? I asked-" He looked back where his mother was sitting, but he was alone. The reins were on the bench and the horse was going forward on its own. "MOM!" He kept searching for his mother in a full-blown panic. "Not this again. Not in here! Mom?!"_

 _A loud roaring was heard from behind the carriage._

" _MOM!"_

 _Heavy steps were shaking with the ground. Carriages were kneeling like boats on the ocean in the middle of a storm. Marco thought about running away, but he was surrounded by pitch black forest. It didn't matter that this forest was the calmest place in all of Mewni; right now even a tiny squirrel would appear like a killing machine. His fear locked him in place tightly and the only thing he could do was to have faith and hope things would work out._

 _To his surprise, when he was hearing rumbling just behind their carriage, it stopped. Not a single sound came from behind, or from any other direction. It appeared that whatever was going to get him, simply went away._

" _Phew! It's gone."_

" _You sure about that?"_

 _An unknown voice came from above. Marco swiftly turned toward it and saw a huge oval face with pitch black eyes and a big, open mouth with tons of small teeth._

" _I want your face."_

 _The thing jumped right at him._

"AAAAAAAH!" Marco fell down from carriage and hit his head.

"Marco! Girls, stop the caravan!"

All carriages simultaneously stopped moving. His mom jumped down to pick up his son, who was trying to fight back the imaginary monster.

"Marco, stop! There is nothing there!"

"LEAVE MY FACE ALONE!"

"Marco! Listen to my voice - it's your mom! Snap out of it!"

"NO NO NO!"

"Ah, sorry for this."

She held out her hand a delivered a strong slap on his cheek.

"Ouch! What- what happened? Where am I?!"

"I'm sorry for that. You had a living nightmare again."

"Mom! I was calling for you the whole time! And there was this ugly monster-"

"Come here." She tightly hugged him. "The monster is gone now. Everything is fine, sweetie. Just relax."

"It was horrible!"

"I know, I know. Shhhhhhhh- _ssssssssss!"_

" _What was that?"_

 _He noticed that his mother's skin was suddenly rough and could. Almost like scales._

" _Mom…?"_

" _Sssssssssilence is needed. Your tongue is tassssssty!"_

 _Her face looked like a snake._

"NO!"

* * *

Marco woke up from yet another nightmare. He was wet, heavily breathing and shaking. The fact that he was completely alone in his bedroom was not helping the situation one bit. As if it wasn't enough, a wild storm was rampaging outside. The soundscape it created was hiding plenty of spooky and mysterious sounds that a startled mind could very easily start to assign a concrete meaning to, and a very unpleasant one at that.

"I need her."

He scurried out of his bed, not giving a crap about his barely covered body and went out. His head still hurt and he was still hearing the voices from his nightmare. It wasn't easy for him to get to his destination, mostly because his legs were having trouble keeping him in a straight line. He even managed to hit himself against the walls from time to time. One of these walls happened to belong to the royal bedroom. Such racket couldn't possibly be left unnoticed and indeed, it was not.

"Marco, is that you?"

He turned around and tried to identify the person talking to him. It wasn't easy for him and for a moment he thought he saw Karin. She seemed a like a slightly taller and older Karin, but his mind was trying so desperately to find her that even a similarity was enough.

"Karin!"

"What?"

Before she could do anything, Marco went straight for her and hugged her.

"Marco!"

"I need you. I can't spend another night alone in my room."

"I'm not-" She silently closed the door to their bedroom in hopes that her husband was still sleeping like a rock. "I'm not Karin!"

Marco didn't seem to get that.

"Those nightmares will be the end of me."

She could push him away, but that would make this situation worse. A situation that didn't even need to exist in the first place if she had insisted on keeping them together. It wasn't doing Karin any favors either, despite the fact that she said she was fine with it wearing that stone face of hers.

"Uhm, dear, let's go back to our room, shall we?"

"I don't think I can go back there."

"It's okay, I won't leave you."

It was a really good thing that both her husband and her daughter were both sleeping in their beds, because this scene would be require a hell of an explanation. She didn't feel bad, though. A bit uneasy, yes, however, this sudden burst of affection reminded her of herself when she was young and gullible, when she believed that night walks such as this would be a regular part of her married life. After meeting her current husband, she soon realized that wouldn't be the case, so she allowed herself to enjoy this moment while it lasted.

"We're here." Karin's mother pointed to the doors leading to her bedroom.

"Wait, didn't we just come from your room?"

"Did we?"

She carefully opened them. Marco saw a girl with green hair silently sleeping in bed. She didn't just seem like Karin, she looked exactly like Karin. This sight kick-started his brain and brought him back to reality. When he looked at her mother and realized he was holding hands with her the whole time, his face covered itself with combination of fear and embarrassment.

She smiled at him. "It's fine. It'll be our secret."

"Mom?" Karin sleepily opened her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Your husband misses you."

"Mom, if father finds him here…"

"I'll deal with your father. I should have done that a long time ago. Go, Marco. You should be with your family."

Even though it was three months since that incident in the forest, seeing Karin genuinely expressing emotions was still a bit unsettling for him. Maybe because she still wasn't able to show them like she used to before she got sick, so her attempts were a bit freaky. But seeing her thankfulness emanating from her purple eyes made him stay.

"Yeah, you're right. I just… I had a really hard night."

"Come here and tell me about it."

That voice… Like a distilled chocolate candy wrapped up in satin. His ankles were suddenly weak.

"I'll be going now. You two have a nice… talk."

Karin's mother closed the doors and Marco was now alone with her, and with their daughter.

"Why are you standing there? Come to bed." She uncovered her body and motioned for him to lay down next to her.

"Yeah, yeah."

He nervously sat down next to her.

"You seems nervous," noted Karin.

"Yeah, well, my memories are coming back to me."

"But that's a good thing."

"It might have been if it weren't mostly about the horrors I experienced. These were not exactly happy thoughts. I still can't even remember our wedding! It's infuriating!"

"It will come back to you, don't you worry."

"You keep telling me that, but during those three months I didn't have a single glimpse! I feel like a fraud."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Sigh! Do you feel like we're a married couple? When was the last time we did something together? I mean just two of us, like walks through meadows, or romantic dinners, or even…" He froze.

"Made love?"

"See? I can't even open up in front of my own wife! Why am I even here, Karin? Just look at me - what a husband I turned out to be."

Karin smiled at him and gently touched his face. Only then did he notice how Karin was looking at him: checking him up and down like a predator inspecting its prey. "Uhm, Karin? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, quite the contrary. The fact that you can take it this hard only confirms that I couldn't pick a better man to be walking next to me for the rest of my life. And…" She slipped her hand down to his waist. "...other things."

"Uhm…"

"You didn't seriously think you would just get to sleep next to me, did you?"

"Truth to be told, I kinda did."

"Nope. There is a price for that."

"What kind of price?"

"The marital one."

"Oh. Uhm, t-that… Wouldn't it cause problems, considering your… size, would it?"

"I dunno." She was biting her lips. "It depends."

"On what?"

"Whether you'll be fighting back."

"What? I don't und-"

She grabbed him firmly by his neck and gave him the most passionate kiss he ever felt.

"You didn't lay hands on me for so long. I want you. And I want you right now!"

"But-but…"

"No buts! For three months I could barely touch you because of my father watching our every step. But you're here now and I won't pass up this opportunity for us to have what we both deserve. Now, be a good husband and…"

* * *

The rest of the night went by without any issues. Nightmares didn't return and he could finally have restful sleep free of the horrors that his mind was creating. The storm outside didn't subside, but that didn't matter. He was with the girl he loved utterly and with their child on its way, he couldn't be more happy. He had everything a boy could ever ask for.

" _Maaarcoooo…"_

Indeed, no disturbances far and wide. Just a violent storm beating the trees and windows.

" _Maaarcoooo…"_

For the first time in many long months, he was sleeping like a baby; nothing could possibly interrupt this sweet, deep sleep.

" _Wake up!"_

"BAH!" Marco jumped out of bed scared to death. "Oh no, not this again! I just want to have a single restful night. Is that too much to ask?"

" _You don't belong in here."_ The whispering voice was gently carried across the entire room.

"Who said that?!" He searched the room subsided in dark shades. If there was someone, they were well hidden within the shadows. "Show yourself!"

Storm subsided and a red shimmering light pierced through the window. It illuminated a person standing in the far corner. It looked like a girl, wearing red hoodie in which her face was hidden. Only her long straight blond hair was hanging under it.

" _Why are you here?"_

"Me?! I live here!"

" _Do you really? With whom?"_

"What do you mean by that? She's-" He pointed out to the bed in front of him, but it was empty. He was alone with this mysterious girl talking to him without showing much movement. He grabbed his head and kneeled down. "No, no, no, no. This isn't real. It's just another nightmare. You need to wake up!"

" _She is filling your mind with lies. You can't trust her."_

"Wake up, wake up, wake up…"

" _Open your eyes, Marco."_

"No!"

"Open your eyes, Marco!" Karin was trying to wake him. "You're having another nightmare. You need to snap out of it!"

"NOOO!" He shoved his hands around to protect himself from imaginary enemy. Unfortunately he managed to hit Karin really hard into her face. At this point he began to slowly re emerge back into the waking world. And saw Karin touching the left side of her face. "Karin?"

"That hurt, Marco."

"What? I did that? I am so sorry! I thought-"

"That I was another monster?"

"Not monster. I'm not sure what that was, or who. But I saw a girl."

"A girl, you say."

"Yes. She was in a red hoodie and had long blond hair."

"Huh. I guess she had to be pretty."

"Couldn't tell. Her face was- Wait a minute. Are you implying that I was dreaming about another girl?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"Karin! You know that you-"

"Hehehe, I'm just testing you, dummy. You're so cute when you're worried."

"Haha, very funny."

"Come back to bed. I'll have a surprise for you in the morning."

"A surprise?"

"That's right."

"What is it?"

"If I told you what it was, it wouldn't be much of a surprise anymore, now would it."

"A fair point."

"Now, lay next to me before I slap _you_ for hitting your wife."

Because of her belly, there wasn't much free space for him to comfortably sleep in. But he didn't mind. He was exactly where he wanted to be.

Karin looked into his eyes. "I will never let you go."

* * *

Laar was walking through a hallway inside the Unseen Manor. It was an old place and while time inside the Well doesn't really flow, it still needed some cleaning here and there. This was painfully obvious when he was preparing tea for Eclipsa and Marco. The thick layer of dirt on the dishes had a really tight grip and it was holding on to the bitter end. Laar couldn't care less about that filthy boy, but Eclipsa had to have a sparkly clean cup. If for no other reason, then at least for fear of his own life.

After winning the battle against filth, he prepared a special blend of sweet tea. It was perhaps the only thing Eclipsa ever appreciated about him. Which wasn't all that great, considering that monsters weren't exactly well known for being tea masters. He sure had his share of laughs from others. Alas, he learned to take a pride in what he does best, mainly because it helped Eclipsa to calm down, which in turn helped him to keep his body parts intact.

This time she requested two cups and unless she had cravings for extra sweetness in her morning, it had to be for him. The idea of making his tea bittersweet did cross his mind, but he didn't want to risk enraging Eclipsa. She, for reasons he couldn't even begin to understand, took a great liking to this weird boy. He could understand her need for having him as a tool to hurt the Butterfly family, spending so much time alone with him in her bedroom, not so much.

He tried not to think about that when he was approaching the great doors to Eclipsa's bedroom. He had to keep his cool when going inside. Still, he wasn't feeling exactly confident when he knocked.

"Enter."

That very little confidence he had left him the moment he put his foot inside, mainly because of the room itself. Eclipsa always had sense for style and the entire Manor showed that, if in a dusty way nowadays. But what she did to her room ever since this boy arrived was simply astonishing. Rather than it being tacky or over-complicated, it was surprisingly simple, yet striking. If Eclipsa ever decided to come to Earth and become a designer, she'd make everyone else in the industry jobless in the span of a week.

"I brought the tea you requested milady."

He found Eclipsa sitting next to bed in which was Marco sleeping.

"Good. Put it on the table."

"Of course."

Laar couldn't help himself but to gaze on the decorations in awe. The last time he saw something like was over 300 years ago when _he_ was here.

"Do you require my further service?"

"I will."

Eclipsa leaned to Marco and whispered something into his ear. Shortly after that he opened his eyes. The purple glow was stronger than before.

"Karin? Why are you waking me up so soon?"

"I've been thinking."

"That's great, but it doesn't answer my question."

"Man, you're irritated."

"Because I've barely had any sleep. And you have your own share of the blame for it."

"Can you really blame me for wanting to spare some quality time with my husband?"

"No, but I can blame you for waking me without reason."

"I have my reason."

"Oh no… don't tell me that you want to-"

"Not at all. While you were sleeping, I went to mother's library."

"Really? In the middle of the night?"

"Well, your nightmares aren't doing you any favors, and the last one with that blond girl…"

"Look. I explained to you-"

"It's okay, I'm not accusing you of anything. But those nightmares have to stop. Our baby is due soon and its father can't be shaken to the core after each night."

Marco froze. He never thought about. It was true what she said; her daughter would soon have her own nightmares: from her father.

"What do you propose then?"

"There is one possibility how to get rid of them, but… it'll be hard, dangerous even."

Marco looked at Karin's tummy. "I'll need to be there for our daughter. I have to try and fix myself."

"You sure about this?"

"I was never so sure about anything in my life; tell me what I have to do."

Eclipsa expected for him to agree, but his self-confidence impressed her. So much, in fact, that she decided to kiss him.

"I don't deserve you."

"That's right, you don't. Because you _need_ me. Both of you do," Marco touched her big belly.

"My hero. Very well then."

She stood up and went to one of the drawers, from which she removed a small box.

"A tiny box?"

"It isn't the box itself that's important, it is its contents." She opened it and inside were two small black stones. Nothing suggested that they were supposed to be special.

"I'm still not impressed."

"That's the beautiful thing about them: they look just like any other regular stone. However, those two are special. And deadly."

"Deadly? Deadly how?"

"They're called Dream Stones. Their deadliness rests in their ability to slowly kill their victims. If you were to fall asleep in their vicinity, they'd lock your mind in a neverending dream."

"That doesn't sound very dangerous."

"If you were to never wake up, how would you drink? Or eat? Your body would still need water and food to survive."

"Ooooh!"

"But I doubt you'd live long enough to die from starvation or dehydration. You would most likely die long before that. You see, those dreams would slowly turn against you, transforming into your worst nightmares."

"Nightmares…"

"Yes. Ones from which you'd never wake up. And once you'd die in your mind, your body would follow."

"Damn."

"Indeed. And this is the only way to get rid of your own nightmares."

"How?"

"Well, about that… I have a confession to make. The truth is that your bad dreams aren't exactly random. They were years ago, before we met. But you started to get better as we were becoming closer. Do you remember that?"

"Vaguely. My memory still is a bit hazy."

"However your nightmares started to get worse after a year or so. This got me thinking: what could possibly be triggering your nightmares? So I did a little research on my own. And then it hit me: Collectors."

"Who?"

"They are… How do I explain it?… Do you know what Shadowy Meadows is?"

"Sure I do. It was a village that got destroyed by great fire. According to legend most of the inhabitants died together with it and are still roaming its streets."

"Well, it's true."

"Wait, what?"

"Although not accurate. Not a single living soul managed to escape. And it wasn't fire, but something far worse: an eruption of dark magic."

"The Darkness… I thought that was just a legend as well."

"Every legend has a grain of truth in it. In this case, they were both based on real events. Most them are, actually."

"So what really happened to them?"

"This occurred long, long ago, in the dark ages, when magic was crude and ran wild. Skirmishes between the forces of Light, Evil and Darkness were quite common back then."

"The Magical Pillars. My mother told stories about them when I was little."

"Open conflicts like those are in the past. But before they subsided, Darkness unleashed one last attack: a wave of dark energy that was corrupting everything in its path."

"But it didn't succeed, right? I mean, we wouldn't be having this conversation if it did."

"It did not. My ancestor, Queen Hekatia, intervened and stopped it, but at a terrible price. Because magic cannot be destroyed, she had to contain it. Dark magic is parasitic and it feeds on living beings."

"I don't like where this is going."

"Neither did Hekatia, but she didn't have a choice. She forced the wave to reach Shadowy Meadows. You can imagine what followed. When the Darkness was fully focused on devouring the village, she enacted a magical bubble, so nothing could escape, not even villagers."

"Oh my…"

"It is said that their screams were heard even years after the unfortunate event. Whatever the truth was, Hekatia never returned to that damned place, leaving it to its demise. After she died several decades later, the bubble she created died with her. Her daughter went to check up on the place to be sure that nothing had survived."

"I sense a but coming."

"All she found was a ghost town, completely stripped of life. The young queen didn't see anything, so she left the place uncovered. But..."

"Here we go."

"Four of them somehow managed to survive. With nothing holding them back, they crawled out into the world. Consumed by dark magic, they too craved for the living. However, decades of isolation made them weak and fragile, so they adapted and learned to feed on fear instead. They were entering others' dreams and showing them their worst nightmares, and they are still doing it to this day."

"Wait, are you saying that-"

"Indeed I am. You are their next victim."

"But how could this be? Shadowy Meadows is two days journey on foot away!"

"I suspect that they are able to reach you because of your condition. You were suffering from nightmares before. My guess is that they must sensed you."

"So, how will these Stones help me?"

"You will have to find someone else for them to latch on to."

"Are you suggesting that I should pass my suffering on to other people? Are you crazy?!"

"That I am. I have been for three years now."

"This isn't funny!"

"Marco, do you seriously think I'd be saying all of this to you if I wasn't sure of it? Of course I'm not saying you have to pick two random citizens and give them stones. That would be ridiculous, but there are certain individuals who deserve to suffer."

"Such as?"

"Burglars, murderers, rapists, that sort of scum."

"So you don't want me to hurt innocent people now, instead you just want to see me get hurt. I mean, how do you propose I give them the Stones? They'll kill me on the spot!"

"That's where you're wrong."

Eclipsa reached her hand into drawer once more.

"A necklace?"

"Not just any necklace. It contains a spell."

"What kind of spell?"

"They will think you're one of them."

"That's sneaky. I like this more."

"I thought you might." Eclipsa caressed his face. "Oh, how I wish I could go with you."

"I wouldn't allow it even if you could. This is my burden to carry. You have your own, well, ours, really."

"Your ability to say the right thing at right time never ceases to amaze me."

"Neither does me seeing your face every morning."

Laar, who was standing there like an unwilling spectator, couldn't help but notice the subtle changes in Eclipsa's behaviour. She had to play her part in order to be convincing, sure. But after this scene he began to wonder if all of it was still a pretense.

"Well, I really need to let you go, because I would keep you really busy for the next few hours if you stayed here any longer."

 _Wait, what's that?_ Laar tried to look closer at her face. _Is that…? No, it can't be._

"I want you to meet someone. Laar, come here."

The little guy stepped closer. He was wondering why the boy didn't notice him sooner, but such questions were better off not asked when Eclipsa was involved.

"Yes, milady."

"Marco, this is Laar. He's my personal guard."

"I don't remember seeing him here before. Hello, Laar. Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, your highness."

"Your highness? But I'm not…"

"Marco, you're my husband. That makes you royalty as well."

"Oh. I never thought about that."

"Laar will accompany you on your journey."

Laar looked surprised. "I will? I mean… Yes, of course."

"He will show you where those scumbags are living. But the actual infiltration will be up to you."

Marco sighed. "Well, I guess it's time to become a hero."

"You already are in my eyes."

 _There is it again. Something about her looks different. As if she-_

Marco took the box and hung the necklace around his neck. "Ready for battle!"

"Just… come back to me, okay?"

"I wouldn't be much of a father if I didn't. Besides, they'll think I'm one of them. What could go wrong? Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it."

"You go ahead. Laar will join you shortly."

"Fine." He passionately kissed her. "See you soon." And with these final words he left her room.

Laar felt troubled. "Milady, is everything alright? You seem… uneasy."

"Listen here. You will make sure that he comes back. Unharmed."

"I will try, but is he really that important?"

"He is mine and I want him back! And if you fail me, I'll dismantle your other hand as well. Do we understand each other?"

"Clearly!"

He wasn't really looking forward to this trip, but at this point anywhere was better than near that lunatic. One thing was bothering him though.

" _Why were her cheek marks glowing red?"_

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAA!" Star flew out of the window. "GLOSSARYCK!" She was moving fast towards sturdy ground. She was desperately trying to reach her wand, but it was flying above her out of reach. She was going to die for sure this time.

"Why are you yelling?"

"What? Where…"

"I asked you why are you yelling."

"You… threw me… out of window…"

"Correct."

"And… I was going to splat on the ground…"

"But you aren't anymore, so you can you calm down?"

"Huh?"

They were both floating just few centimeters above ground.

"How…?"

"Are we good now? Good!" Glossaryck snapped his fingers and she landed, although not exactly gently. Even this painful contact didn't bring her back to her senses.

"Star, I need you to focus. We need to go back to your parents. Star? Star!"

She was randomly looking around with an empty stare. Her body was present, but her mind was out of town.

"This requires a direct approach."

 _SLAP!_

"Ow! What are you doing?!"

"Restoring your sanity. Are you back with me now?"

"I don't remember… Wait a moment. YOU! You threw me out of the window."

"That I did."

"And-and you left Marco alone with that psychopath!"

"I did it to protect you."

"You p- You did what?! I don't need protection! I can take care of myself! But Marco is defenseless! I'm going back there!"

"No you're not."

"Watch me!" She picked up her wand from off the ground. "Summoning cloud charm!" A fluffy, happy, pink cloud appeared in front of her. "Well, see you around." But when she wanted to jump on it, she couldn't move; she was stuck. "Hey!"

"I told you Star, I did it for your protection."

"Release me this instant! Marco needs me!"

"He is not important."

"He is important for _me_!"

"You are the future queen of Mewni and as such feature of this kingdom."

"I can't be queen without my king!"

"There are plenty of boys in Mewni."

"RELEASE ME!"

"Sigh. As you wish." He snapped his fingers again and Star could finally move.

She swiftly jumped on the cloud and yelled "UP!" The cloud, happy as ever, flew her to the window through which she flew out. However, to her sad realization, the hallway was empty. There was no sign of Marco or Eclipsa.

"Marco? Marco!" The only answer to her calls were echoes of her own voice. "No no no no!" She tried to run a bit further, but not a single soul was in sight. If he was there before, he was gone now. "MARCOOO!" No matter how deeply she wanted him to suddenly appear from around the corner, he was simply gone. "No…"

Sadness quickly changed to anger when she remembered why this happened.

"Where is that little…!"

She returned to the window and looked out to the place where was before. He was gone.

"Oh no, you aren't getting away that easily!"

She ran down the hallway back into the ballroom. People were calmly standing and chatting with each other.

"Wait… No, this isn't right.."

A white, bright light obscured her vision for a second.

"Star! Darling, are you alright?"

"Huh? Mom?"

Moon quickly ran to her daughter. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"It's nothing. I just got little dizzy, that's all."

"Dizzy? Again?" She gave Star a suspicious look.

"What?"

"This isn't the first time you've gotten mysteriously dizzy. Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Like what? I told you, it's nothing."

"Are you sure? You have been spending so much time with Marco lately. Did something happened between you two?"

"What are you implying, mom?"

"Well, you're both young, in love, alone…"

"What do you- OH! Oh no! Mom! I am _not_ pregnant!"

"You sure about that?"

"We were, most of the time, just talking."

"Uhm. Where is Marco, anyway?"

"He isn't here?"

"No. I thought he was with you."

"He was, but he needed to go to bathroom. I thought he'd be back by now."

They both looked around. Spotting him in the crowd thanks to his red hoodie shouldn't be difficult. If he was actually there.

"Maybe he has digestion issues?" Moon asked.

"Errr…"

"Uhm, hello."

They both looked the way from which familiar voice came.

"Marco! There you are."

Star immediately ran towards him.

"Where have you been? And what is with those weird looking clothes? Did you have to change?"

"Uhm… yes?"

Star and Moon looked at each other.

"Digestion issues," nodded Moon. "I'll go prepare something for it."

"Mom, no! This is your birthday party. I'll go."

"Truth to be told, I need a break. Your father's relatives are too wild for my taste and mine are-"

"Boring?"

"Stoic. I will go prepare the remedy. You stay here with Marco."

When Moon left the scene, Star turned back to Marco.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Oh yes, definitely. Never better. Hehe."

"Uhm, what was that?"

"What was what?"

"You seem nervous."

"Me? No, I'm fine. Really. I just, uhm, had a rough day."

"We were together the whole time. I don't remember it being rough."

"Oh no, I meant as in, errr, you know…"

Marco's unusual behaviour wasn't the only thing that Star noticed about him.

"What do you have behind your back?"

"Oh, this?" He showed her a little black box. The similarity to _a_ certain _other_ kind of little black box was striking. Too striking. "It's a surprise for-"

"No…!"

"No? Why not?"

"You didn't…?!"

"I don't understand."

"Marco! That's too soon! You can't ask me that! I won't answer. I refuse to!"

"I'm confused. This is just a gift for… erm, the king and queen?"

"It is?"

"Uhm."

"What's inside?"

"Oh, just some jewelry stones. Nothing spectacular. I just thought they'd be happy to have them."

"Let me get this straight. You went away from me to get some kind of stones for my parents?"

"Your par-? I mean - yes. Yes I did."

Star couldn't believe it. "That was… very thoughtful."

"Thanks. Where are they?"

"Mom went to mix some sort of remedy for you."

"Remedy?"

"Don't ask. And dad is over there, in the corner."

"Oh. when will your mom be back?"

"I'm not su- Oh, there she is."

"Marco! How do you feel?"

"Mom, he doesn't… have issues. False alarm. In fact, he was late because he brought you a present."

"Me?"

"Well, not you specifically. For you and dad."

"He did that?"

Marco raised box in his hand.

"Yes. These are… hmm, special stones."

Moon looked a bit confused.

"Special stones?"

"It's hard to describe them. You need to see them."

"Okay."

"But your husband needs to see them as well."

Star was staggered. Not because she thought he was lying or incorrect, but because of the unusual way he was referring to them.

"Very well. River!"

A rather small, but round man turned around to his wife's voice.

"Yes dear?"

"Come here. Marco has a gift for us."

"Gift? I like gifts!"

He quickly ran to see this gift in person.

" _Wow! They are playing their parts really good,"_ Marco thought.

"Here they are." He opened the box. Inside the box were two small black stones.

"Stones?!" River was obviously disappointed.

"Marco said they are special," Moon assured him.

"Special? How special?"

"You have to pick them up. But at the same time! Because… uhm, because… they are meant for… a married couple."

"Alright then."

They both reached inside the box and picked the stones.

"Hmm," said River. "I don't feel any-" Before he could finish the sentence, both went down to the ground. They were unconsciousness.

"What the- MOM! DAD!" Star kneed down to their motionless bodies and was trying to wake them up. "Wake up!" She looked up at Marco's smirking face. "What have you done?!"

"My job!" answered Marco, starting to run away.

"What? No! Come back!"

But he wouldn't stop.

"Ponyhead! Where are you?!"

Ponyhead came from a mass of young people hanging in the opposite direction. "Yo, B-Fly, why are you yelling? Whoa! What happened to your old folks?"

"I don't know! Marco gave them these weird old stones and when they touched them, they just fell down!"

"Where is Marco then?"

"He ran away!"

"He what?!"

"I'll go after him, but I need you to watch over my parents."

"Sure thing. Go get that Earth turd!"

"Thanks!"

Marco kept running, never turning around. There was no point in doing so. He just put to sleep the leaders of these scumbags. They were most likely chasing him the whole time and it sure wasn't because they wanted to invite him to a tea party. Besides, the path was clear. The party they were having was keeping them occupied, so there was no one to stop him.

After leaving the castle, he entered the dark of the night and changed course, heading back into the Forest of Certain Death. It was a creepy place and, judging by its name, was not exactly a family vacation destination. But whatever was occupying this dreadful place, it was keeping him alone. And right now, it was the safest place he could be. He was hoping that none of those lunatics would follow him there.

"MARCO STOP!"

He was mistaken. He turned around and saw a young girl holding a fancy stick in her hand.

"What did you do to my parents?!"

"You can stop your pretense. I know who you are."

"Pretense? What are you talking about?"

"I won't fall for your games."

"Okay. Something has obviously happened to you. We can fix that, but first you need tell me what did you do to my parents. What are those stones, Marco?"

"STOP CALLING ME BY MY NAME! I did what I had to do to for my daughter. You filth deserve a thousand times worse!"

"Da-daughter? Yo-you have a daughter?" While before she wasn't sure if she would be able to shoot at Marco to stop him, now the possibility of that happening was rapidly rising. "How could you have a daughter?"

"That's none of your business! Crawl back into your infested burrow, or I'll send you back there… IN PIECES!"

Star wiped tears going down her face. "I do not know what happened to you, but I will not allow you or anyone else to talk like that about my family!"

"Yeah? And what are you going to do about it?"

She raised her wand and it started to glow. The scenery submerged for a second into bright white light. Star was now standing on the shore of a lake, dividing the forest and the castle.

"Leave me and my family alone!" shouted Marco from the opposite side and vanished between the tree tops.

Star was confusingly looking at the dark blue waters of the Forgotten Lake.

"This… Doesn't feel right. Wait… Mom! Dad!"

She ran back into the castle, while silently sobbing into the cloudless night.

The Forest of Certain Death. Among many other things, it is a perfect holiday destination if for some reason you feel like your life got really boring and you wanted it to spice it up. Permanently. No one sane enough would dare to enter it, let alone to hide in it. Marco wasn't that kind of person. He needed to get away from this dreadful place as quickly as possible and to return to his lovely wife that he loved so much. Indeed, his future by her side was looking as bright as ever. And with little Corona on her way, he couldn't possibly feel any more happy.

If it wasn't for this nagging feeling in the back of his head. It was causing quite a discomfort. Because of it he was unable to fully focus on the road ahead; he tripped and fell down.

"Damn it! What's wrong with me?! I feel like my head is about to explode!"

Despite the expected outcome, nothing even tried to approach him. There he was, lying on the ground, confused and hurt, yet the forest didn't seems to take interest in this ridiculously easy prey. Many others didn't survive even innocent peeks at its edges. Marco, however, managed to run through it twice without harm.

"Huh? What's this?" He noticed that the necklace Karin gave him was glowing in purple. "Is this supposed to be doing this? Agh!" He touched his head with both hands. "Why does it hurt so much?"

He stood up and tried to walk, but the pain was commanding his full attention. Every step was difficult and every breath as heavy as stone.

"Maybe it's doing something to me." He touched the necklace and intended to take it off, but for some reason he couldn't. "No… This doesn't feel right. I need to… keep it." Suddenly, he went down on his knees. "AHHH! MAKE IT STOP!"

The necklace was now glowing even more. Its hazy light was spiraling around his body like a snake, entering every part of his body.

" _Marco."_

"Karin?" He looked around, but all he saw was the empty forest.

" _Follow the light, Marco. You're close now. Get back to me."_

"I am, ugh, trying! And where is this-" Before he could finish his thought, he noticed a small, but bright light peeking through thick order of trees.

" _I'm waiting for you, my love."_

The voice felt exactly like the soothing touch of her soft skin during the nights they spent together. He wanted to experience that again. He needed her in his life.

With tremendous concentration, he slowly, but surely started to walk towards the glimmering source in the distance. It seemed to him like an eternity, but the prospect of being with her was pushing him forward and allowing him to ignore the pain. He couldn't possibly stop now. Nothing and no one could prevent him from reuniting with his love.

No one.

The light was getting stronger with each step he took. Mysteriously, the pain, although still sharp, now felt as if it was coming from a distance. It was still causing him to twitch, but it wasn't making him want to chew his arm off.

After some minutes, the light was now within his reach. All he had to do was simply step in and he'd be back together with Karin. Back together with the one girl he truly loved.

So he stepped in.

* * *

At first, there was only darkness. He was unable to move, hear or see anything. He wasn't sure what that was, but the pain was now gone, so he wanted to enjoy the relief from it. He felt so peaceful.

"Daddy!"

And alone.

"Daddy, where are you?"

Or was he?

"Not fair! You're hiding too well!"

The incoming voice was unfamiliar to him. With closed eyes he couldn't see to whom it belonged, so he decided to open them. Big mistake. The strong light from the sun immediately blinded him.

"HA! I found you! Pa? Are you okay?"

The voice was now coming directly from above. It was high pitched, yet still soft. He tried to open them again, this time slowly so his eyes could adjust to the bright surroundings. It took him a few seconds, but eventually he managed to discern the person standing above him. It was a little girl, strangely clothed at that.

"Do you need help? Should I call mom?"

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm calling mom. MOM! COME HERE! DAD IS ACTING WEIRD!"

"Who are you?"

The girl didn't respond. She was just looking at him as if he were a failed experiment, or something.

"Where is he?"

"Down here, mom."

There were now two girls standing above him. Well, he wasn't really sure how old the other girl was. Then again, he wasn't able comprehend any of this, nor how he got here.

"Who are you?"

"Did you hit your head or something? I'm the one that's suppose to be weird in this family, remember?"

"I don't understand."

"That much is obvious. Come on up, I'll help you."

The older girl offered him a helping hand. He wasn't sure what to do, but since he didn't feel in any danger, he accepted.

"There you go."

Now that he was standing he could finally see where he was. And if he wasn't busy being confused, he was gazing in awe at the scenery around him. It was a meadow, filled with sunlight, a cute little river, tons of colorful flowers, flying butterflies and whatnot. In short, it was an idyllic place like the ones you would normally find on postcards from the Alps.

"What is this place? And how did I get here?"

"We decided to call it Sunny Meadow and we walked in here. Don't tell me you forgot again"

"I- I'm not even sure what I forgot."

"Oh boy. Not this again."

"Is he going to be alright, mom?"

"Oh don't worry, sweet pea, I'll fix him shortly. Why don't you go play with butterflies over there and I'll talk with your father in the meantime?"

"Okay." She came closer to Marco and brought him down to her level, so she could kiss him on his cheek. "Love you, dad. Get well." With these words she ran off hunting butterflies in the field.

"Dad?"

"Yeah. You know, it's really funny how you asked the exact same thing the day I informed you that I was pregnant. At least now I know your personality didn't change."

"I'm really sorry, but I'm still disorientated."

"That's fine. Here, let's sit down."

"Sit? But there isn't-"

She brought up colorful and funny looking stick. With one move, a bench appeared in front of them.

"How…?"

"I'll explain everything. Just sit down, because I ain't doing it standing."

Reluctantly, he did sit down. Although he kinda expected something to jump on him from somewhere.

"Don't worry, nothing will jump on you."

"How did you-"

"This isn't the first time you lost your memories. I should have know better then to trust Hekapoo with 'fixing' your condition."

"Who is Hekapoo?"

"Nevermind her. Thankfully, I had plenty of practice getting you back into the picture, so…" She pointed on herself. "My name is Star Butterfly. I am queen of Mewni kingdom and I'm using this wand in my hand to cast magical spells." Then she pointed at him. "You are Marco Butterfly and as your name suggests, you're the king of Mewni and obviously my husband." And finally she pointed at girl jumping around in the field. "And that, my dear husband, is our creation: Alleena Butterfly, the princess of Mewni."

Marco was silently switching his sight between her, the wand and Star. He was processing all the new information she unloaded on him in just few seconds.

"Now, this is when you ask the most unusual question, considering the situation you are currently in. The reason why she is clothed so differently is not because she is adopted. It's because you wanted to have her at least one dress from your culture."

Marco stopped listening to her half-way through her speech. Alleena caught her eye. There was something unusual about her. He couldn't quite right put his finger on what exactly, but he couldn't stop watching how she was playing with butterflies.

"Marco? Hello? Anybody home?"

He was mesmerized by her. He stood up and started to slowly walk towards her.

"Well, this is new. Marco!"

A familiar feeling has settled in his heart. Familiar, yet disturbing. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel. All he knew was that for some reason he wanted to hold her in his arms. And he would most likely do that, if it wasn't for a sudden thunderstorm.

"What's the meaning of this?!" To say that Eclipsa was angry would be an understatement.

"I don't know! He went through the Well and the moment he came out he fell down and didn't wake up."

"What happened in Mewni?"

"I have no idea."

"Say that again?"

"He told me to stay put because he didn't want to risk blowing his cover."

"And you let him?! He was your responsibility!"

"He-"

"I don't want to hear any of your excuses! Get lost! NOW!"

Laar never saw Eclipsa this furious. She was really worried about the boy. Which was very much obvious when she kneaded down to his body to check for injuries.

"He appears to be unharmed. Let me check… Oh no. No you don't! I won't allow it! HE IS MINE!"

He heard her yelling at something, but he couldn't care less; after everything he'd done for her, he didn't deserve this treatment. Not anymore.

Meanwhile, Eclipsa sat down next to Marco and was trying to focus her thoughts.

"You won't beat me at my own game!"

Loud thunder came from behind massive hills far off on the horizon. Which was really weird because there were no storm clouds in sight.

"What was that?" Marco was looking at sky, searching for source of the thunder.

"Dad?"

"Hmmm?"

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know."

Thunder struck again, this time even harder than before. It was also closer.

"Marco?" Star came closer to check up on him.

"You don't hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"Thunder."

Both girls looked at each other and then at the sky.

"There is no storm. Your mind must still be playing tricks on you."

Thunder sounded for the third time, and now with it storm clouds were marching from the hills. They were heavy, dark and purple.

"A storm is coming!"

He was pointing at menacing weather coming their way.

"There is nothing there, Marco!"

"No, there is! I can- Wait. Where is Alleena?"

"I sent her home because of the upcoming storm"

"But you said you don't see anything."

"I'm sure you heard me wrong."

"No! I can clearly remember-"

"Marco!"

He adjusted again, looking back toward where storm was approaching from, which was now occluding the sun. Standing there was a young girl with green hair.

"Don't listen to her! She is trying to divide us! Come back to me!"

"I don't-"

When he tried to look back at Star for comfort, there was now a young girl covered in a red hoodie. Saddening eyes darted at Marco. She looked familiar somehow. Where did he see her before…

"You really don't want to go back to her. You have a chance to return home. Your true home. Here, take my hand."

"Marco! You are my husband! We are expecting our first baby! You belong at my side! They did something to your mind!"

"Why do I have feeling I saw you somewhere?" asked Marco at the mysterious girl.

"You know where." A small blond strand flipped out from under the hoodie.

"Wait, is that…" He grabbed her hoodie and took it down. "Star?"

"Yes, it is me. And I miss you."

"No. There is something else…"

And just like that, as if lightning stroke him, he remembered.

"YOU!" He started to paddle back away from her. "You did something something to my mind with that wand of yours, didn't you? Y-You... so that I would believe you and you'd force me to abandon my family."

"On the contrary, I want you back with your family, but that witch isn't a part of it."

"No, I won't fall for it again. I don't care what you're trying to sell me, but I love Karin and I will spend my life with her. You won't take away our happiness."

"That's where you are wrong."

She brought up her wand and it began to light up.

"MARCO, DUCK!"

He wasn't even sure who said it, but instinct kicked in and he fell to the ground. A stream of purple light went over his head, hitting Star and pushing her far away.

"What the…?!"

Karin ran to him to check if he was alright.

"Did I hit you?"

"What was _that_? And what is _this_?"

"That was magic, and this umbrella here is my wand."

"I will explain it to you later, but we have to go. Right now."

The storm was now raging all over.

"I don't even know where we are."

"Wake up."

"What?"

Karin touched his forehead.

* * *

"WHOA!" Marco woke up laying in a wet patch of dirt in front of the house. "Where was I?!"

"You were dreaming." Eclipsa had a troublesome look in her eyes. "But I took you out."

"So that dream was real?"

"Indeed it was. Did you deliver the stones?"

"I did."

"Then it's over. They can't get to you anymore."

"It is? For real this time?"

"Yes," she smiled.

"Finally! I can focus on being a husband instead of being a wreck! Thank you, Karin!" He kissed her, long and passionately.

What she was doing with him in dreams was one thing. Experiencing it in the real world was another. While her first reaction was to play along for the sake of keeping the illusion, after a while she actually started to like it and eventually took the initiative.

"Now that I no longer need to be afraid to close my eyes, I could enjoy it a lot more."

"I liked it too." Nobody was there to notice it, but Eclipsa was actually blushing. Her hands were still resting on his shoulders. But that changed the moment she noticed how he was staring at her. "Is something wrong?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"What do you mean?"

"You were always the one that was… aggressive, however," Marco couldn't and didn't want to hide his lust anymore, "now you have this glow coming out of you that I didn't see before. It makes me… want you."

Eclipsa realized really quickly that she needed to put him back to sleep. But she also realized something else: she didn't really want to.

"Uhm…"

She tried to act embarrassed, but the truth was that this sudden display of assertiveness from him made her willing to do unspeakable things to him right there.

"I don't care if your father is home. I desire you. Right now!"

Eclipsa felt burning inferno inside her body. And shockingly enough, in her heart as well. It wasn't a question of if it would happen anymore, but rather of when it would happen. As the seconds went by, a much more important question was where it would happen.

"He isn't home; we are alone." She could barely say those words between such heavy breaths.

"So…"

"Yeah…?"

The only reason why they hadn't already jumped on each other was because he was never really the one who started it before and because she didn't plan to actually fall for him. But she was alone, she lost everything and everyone, and this boy was showing her nothing but the utmost love. While she knew that it was artificial love, her broken heart didn't want to make that distinction. She knew very well that the consequences could be dire.

But in the end, despite all that she had said and done, she was still a woman.

 **Chapter 12 of The Hidden Truth was written by Terepin and edited by KuriyanBBQ, Saokpe and** ** **Haunted Melon.****

 ** **Hekatia is original character created by jgss0109 on DeviantArt.****


	13. Dreamscapes, Part 3 - The Last Stand

Star flew at blazing speeds back into Mewni Castle, eyes covered with tears and teeth clenched together. Her mind kept playing Marco's comments toward her on repeat. ' _Everything was just fine before but… here he has the nerve to say those things?! No… Something isn't right about this. That wasn't my Marco._ ' She jumped off of Cloudy, nodding in thanks as the pink creature vanished into thin air. She ran into the castle and spotted Janna leaning near a door.

"Sup girl you…" Janna noticed the almost pained expression on Star's face. "I heard your parents got sick… and that Marco did something to them?" Star said nothing, only gently pushing her to the side. Sighing in defeat, she followed Star inside. The duo saw Pony Head hovering near the snoring King and Queen.

"Girl, your parents are sleeping babies." Star started thought to let a snicker come out, but it soon devolved into a blank expression. Pony Head awkwardly laughed, hovering over to Star. "B-Fly, those stones are funky. You said Earth Turd had them?"

"Yeah…" Star said quietly, the other girls in the room unsure what to say next. "You can come out now, Glossaryck. I know you're listening." The little man warped into the room, rubbing his beard over the sleeping figures beneath him. She shot him a look that expressed both irritation and bafflement. "How can I fix this?"

He snapped his fingers, placing them on a nearby bed. "Eclipsa's gone and done a number on him, hasn't she?" the little magic man muttered. Star's eyes grew wide, with Glossaryck giving an annoyed expression. "Your parents, kiddo, focus. These stones mess with dreams, preventing you from _ever_ waking you up." Picking up one of the stones, he tilted it around, even tasting it. Ignoring the disgusted groans from others in the room, he darkly chuckled. "Oh, you are clever. Using the boy." He placed the stone down, taking Star's wand.

Star noticed it grow a faint purple, humming like a kitten's purr. The star crystal in the center turned almost transparent, showing a radar-like object in the center. Taking the wand back, Star intently studied it. "Soo… What do I do now? Just, hover this over their heads or something?"

"Yes, but you must enter their dream." He placed his palm over River's and Moon's heads, nearly recoiling when touching the queen. "Oh boy, take care of River first. Interesting nightmare the queen is having." Glossaryck sat on Moon's head, closing his eyes. "Look for the problem, fix it and you should be able to eject everyone just fine! Just… Don't stay too long."

"What is that supposed to-" Before Star could ask further questions, Glossaryck's pupils turned pure white.

"Welp, I guess I'm on my own here." Star grumbled to herself. She looked at Pony Head, who gave a sly smile. "I could use a little backup. Want to tag along on an adventure through my dad's noggin?" She neighed with excitement, making Star release a small laugh.

Before they could do anything further, knocking was heard on the door. "Starship? I was looking for Marco. I wanted to wish him…" The door opened, with Tom looking confused at the group. "Uh… What's going on here?"

"Janna, you fill him in and help my mom out." Star hovered her wand over River, feeling her heart marks glow a bright white. Even Pony Head's sole heart mark glowed. They vanished into the wand, now hovering directly over River. Tom looked on in bewilderment, eventually turning questioningly toward Janna.

"Look hot head, I have no idea what's happening either, but Marco made Star's parents go into some kind of magical coma." Tom sighed, rubbing his third eye. "Yeah, I don't get it either. Want to explore the queen's dream?"

Tom looks at the stones on the ground, eyes narrowing. "These are very rare objects, my kingdom only use these to punish the worst creatures." He looked toward the window, feeling some angered fire escape his pores. "Things are going to get a whole lot worse."

Janna smirked, picking up one of the stones next to Moon. "I wonder if we can shoot some of that magical fire into this puppy and get inside Queenie's head?" Tom's eyes went wide at the suggestion, but Janna continued having her smug smirk. "What? You do _know_ about these dream stones after all."

Tom rubbed his chin, letting out a sigh. "Well, I've certainly never done something like this myself, but why not give it a shot." He took Janna's hand, who made small smirk. "I need you to stay focused, feel for the magic I'm about the cast." Tom coughed and touched Moon's forehead with the hand holding the stone. Janna tightened her grip as Tom mumbled demonic chants.

Both felt their eyes go numb, slowly falling to the floor, as if their very souls were being transferred elsewhere. The dream stone glowed a vivid red, now hovering over Moon's head. A small ring of fire encased it. All at once, silence fell over the room.

 _ **IEEEEEEEEEEEE**_

"What in the blazes is that awful ringing in my head?" River let out an irritated grunt and rubbed his temple with one hand. He sat up from his bed, massaging his skull until the ringing seemed to abruptly die down. He combed through his most recent memories, trying to peg the reason for his unpleasant awakening, but nothing came to him. There was something about a party? Probably another royal shindig that he had to attend. The King stretched his arms out and let out a powerful yawn before jumping to conclusions.

"Ho ho, I guess I missed one positively boring party! I must have thrown back so much ale that I cannot even remember Moonpie nagging me about 'overdoing it' again." He stood up and took a few strides away from the bed, lumbering forward in hopes of gaining his balance. He looked around the quiet room.

"Moon, dear? I know you're always telling me to watch my alcohol, but I always tell you I'll be fine, see!? ...Moonpie, honey?"

River scratched his beard. He wondered where his wife could possibly have gone without waking him up first. He certainly didn't mind having some extra time to sleep off what had to have been a doozy of a night, but it was unusual. Their duties often kept them busy and the queen made it pretty clear most days that River should be up in the morning with her. Maybe today was a special day?

"Ah, poppycock! I'll just have to go find out for myself," River announced to nobody in particular as he set out for his wardrobe and dressed himself in semi-formal attire. He'd concern himself with appearances if he knew what he could expect to find, but, in this case, he absolutely didn't care.

Once he was satisfied with being mostly dressed, River made his way for the throne room, expecting to find his wife and get an earful of some sort. He passed a few stoic guards in front of the royal bedroom and a few others as he strode down the corridor. Their nods toward the King were lacking, to say the least. Each one reminded him that perhaps he was in more trouble than he thought. River wasn't worried, though; he was prepared for anything, just as he always was. Moon could never stay mad at him for long; he just needed to do what he does best… be loud and manly! ...and beg for her to let him off the hook.

While he had gone through this song and dance a number of times, he wasn't quite sure what to expect when he found the throne room empty. It was perplexing to the King that he could not imagine where his queen had ventured off to. He paced forward toward their thrones and briefly took a seat on the steps below. He racked his brain, wondering where they must have been while eyeballing an old royal portrait on the wall. He sure that he had simply forgotten something obvious. There was no sign that anything had gone on in this room today. Having nearly given up trying to figure it out, he decided to exit the throne room and inquire with one of the guards posted in front of the room. It was unlikely that Moon would have gone far without corresponding with the staff.

He exited the throne room and greeted the first guard he could find. The guard, like all every other he'd seen today, was quiet, but attentive.

"Salutations, my loyal guard!" he exclaimed dutifully. The guard gave a mechanical bow, as if awaiting instructions.

"I haven't been able to find the Queen at all this morning!" River leaned in close, covering his mouth with one hand. "Don't tell her about this, but I must have forgotten what was on our agenda for today."

The guard proceeded to stare blankly at River, seeming unphased by his outburst.

"Could you tell me what our dear Queen is up to this morning?" River utters while posturing politely.

The guard shook his head.

"Is Moon at least still at the castle?"

Again, the guard shook his head. Negative.

"Not at the castle you say?" River scratched the side of his head as he pondered for a moment more. After that one moment, all wondering ceased abruptly.

"FREE DAY!" River bellowed as excitement took over. Not another second passed before River had torn his tunic clean off his torso and began spinning it around, chanting like a gorilla. He rushed back to the royal bedroom with fire in his eyes.

"I feel like a young lad again, no responsibility, no thinking. NO, IT IS TIME FOR ACTION!" The King removed his casual clothes in favor of a more freeing attire: his loincloth. As soon as it hit him that he could spend today doing whatever he wanted, River knew immediately what he would do. Today was a hunting day! He prepared himself for some deadly, exhilarating combat. Once his war paint was properly applied, he removed his crown and gave it a look over before deciding to set it down in the bedroom. He set out from the castle with spear strapped behind him to go tackle some ferocious monsters.

River placed distance between himself and the castle. As he continued, he thought about what his plan for today's hunt would be. River has always enjoyed his personal hunting trips as they brought out the wild beast in him that made him feel the most alive. If it wasn't dangerous, it wasn't fun, and River always made sure to make it dangerous. Each hunt was like a game to the King; find the most threatening foe possible, set a handicap for less impressive foes, and some sort of goal for his tougher foes. Sure, these fights often left him bruised and battered, but he wouldn't have it any other way. The scratches, the aches, the pain; these feelings are what it means to be alive for Mewni's warrior King.

River's trek brought him through a wooded area not far from the city proper. The trees were tall and surrounded by leaves and plants of all shapes and sizes; everywhere vegetation could be seen painted a lush green and pulsing with life. The scurrying of small creatures could be heard all around as they whimsically rattled grass and scratched tree bark. The King was an untamed man of action at heart, but he couldn't help but revel in the beauty of nature with each step he took. These forests were always his favorite place to visit first when he went on these adventures; he was reminded in times like these just how much he loved the outdoors. He didn't tend to have the time to enjoy moments like these when he hunted bigger, more dangerous game, but there was always a great warm-up to be had around here.

Continuing his stroll, he rubbed his chin, trying pick up on any scents lingering in the air. "Where are you vile creatures…" Slowing his pace, he stopped near some bushes, seeing them rattle. He readied his fists and the bushes unleashed a small army of rat creatures. "Ah! I haven't forgotten what you buggers did to my kingdom! I've Always wondered how cooked rat tastes." He charged into them, but the two creatures scurried away in fear. River cracked his neck, a playful grin growing across his face. Picking up a nearby stick, he charged into one rat, sending him flying from the impact. The other rat screeched in fear, dashing away.

"No you don't!" He chased after the creature, passing by the dark trees and seemingly hissing vines erupting from the ground. River found himself in a more isolated part of the forest, unsure where the creature ran off to. Rubbing his short beard, small squeaks came from a nearby cave. "Hiding? Come on out! I'm ready for a tussle." The cave became silent leaving River unamused. He marched into the cave, feeling the light slowly seep away, only the faint light of torches still keeping him company.

The cave was covered with dark purple crystals, each humming with a faint, practically useless glow. The sound of screeching bats echoed, but River was unfazed. Continuing his hunt, he stopped, seeing a giant rat sporting a bitter face. "Why, greetings. Are you the mother of those vile creatures?" A loud hiss came from the massive rat, nearly biting River's head off. "Seems so… well then." River jumped on the rat's back and hooked his arms around it. Locking his arms around its neck, the creature started prancing around like an enraged bull. "What's wrong? Afraid of being tamed?!" River shouted heroically, riding the creature like a warnicorn.

The rat slammed its large pink tail into the ground, causing tremors which dislodged rocks from above. Many of them sailed down across the large cavity. One larger boulder knocked River off the rat but he grabbed its pink tail on the way down. The rat ran ahead, River holding on defiantly. Skidding across the cold ground, River ignored the burning feeling on his feet and glanced at the wall. Still holding on, River leapt toward the wall and ran across it, leaping onto the rat's back again. Once more he maneuvered an arm around the creature's neck and applied as much pressure as he could in a fluid, twisting motion. A loud snap echoed, followed by a crack. The creature tripped over itself and crashed into the ground, eyes now lifeless. A small band of rats surrounded their mother, making final squeaks. River didn't notice, making a proud pose and laughing boastfully.

"Take that you oversized rodent." He wipe his hands and walked ahead, but stopped upon hearing angered squeaks. Turning around, he saw the smaller rats from before, all possessing bright red eyes and sharp fangs. "Oh, ready to face me now? Bring it!" River held his ground, catching one of the rats that lunged at him. Using its tail, River cracked the rat against the others like a makeshift whip, sending them hurtling backward. Spinning in place for a short while, River chucked the rat he held into a series of other rats charging at him, the entire row falling over like a train of dominos.

River wiped his forehead, feeling some sweat coming down. "Boy, today's hunt has gotten off to a rousing start! Perhaps I should…" He looked behind him, seeing a bright light, almost calling him. "More to hunt? Oh this should be a hoot." Cracking his knuckles, he walked into the light. The creatures he just took out, vanished into the wind, as if they were puddles of water evaporating or seeping into the ground.

Coming out of the cave, River saw a familiar sight, his favorite hunting grounds. The horrid smells pervaded the airwaves while hissing and screams echoed into the sky; the Forest of Certain Death at it's finest. River noticed a steep incline beneath him which he jumped toward and skillfully slid down. Landing on the ground, he noticed the sounds around him went silent. "Ha! They expect me. Makes the hunt even better." River marched on, jumping over the sinking grounds and swinging across nearby vines.

Leaping across, River pondered an idea. Grabbing on of the vines, he snapped it off a nearby tree, sending a nest of bird creatures crashing down. Checking the vine's strength, he wrapped it around his arm for safe-keeping. The bird creatures looked at him with disdain, flying off and screeching loudly. "Bah, they will just make another nest."

Walking past the mess, he noticed various animals running away from something. River dashed toward the running critters, a grin plastered on his face. Stopping inches away, he spotted the object they feared; a massive man-eating plant. "Oh Jeffery my good chum. Where have you been for all this time?"

The plant, which had spotted coloring of purples and blacks, looked at River. Smelling him, it immediately spat out a steaming, green acid. River rolled away, narrowly avoiding the attack. "You think I will fall for the same trick twice?" He playfully boasted. The creature continued its assault, River using the vine he picked up to swing around from place to place. He landed on a tall rock and noticed spiked pillars erupting from the ground.

His momentary asylum shattered, causing River to plummet back down to the ground. He reflexively rubbed his pained neck. "I love a good challenge but this is practically the most annoying thing I've had to do all year." He charged into the pillar, taking a large bite out of it. The plant creature hissed loudly with pain. Spitting out the chunk he bit, River attached it to the vine he had. Spinning it rapidly, he hit the creature, making green blood splatter across the ground.

Unable to move from its rooted position, the creature just avoided swings to the head, but couldn't stand the pain anymore. Puffing up its cheeks, it spat a series of seeds at River, who used his spinning vine to block most of the attack. But one seed lodged into his arm, spreading some poison through his body. He reeled back in discomfort. "Confound it!" River rushed behind a tree.

"I hate doing this…" He jabbed his finger into the wound, pulling the seed out and letting his infected blood gently pour out. Grabbing a nearby plant, he covered up the wound and charged back into battle. He swung the vine into the air and wrapped it comfortably around the cave wall, using it to generate momentum. He flew through the air and raised his right leg, slamming a foot clean into the plant's head-like structure.

Painful cries echoed into the room while the two each crashed to the ground. River huffed from his exertion, but smiled seeing the creature no longer moving an inch. "I've finally bested you, vile plant monster." Tossing the vine aside, he paced away, hoping to find some water to wash down the lingering taste in his mouth from his expired nemesis.

The plant behind River gradually disintegrated, leaving a series of colorful flowers in its place. They even moved, bopping up and down as if following along to some manner of chiptune. They coated the ground along with a bed of purple grass.

"Bah, good riddance!" River snorted, dusting off his hands. "That was a challenge, but hardly the kind of challenge I fancy." He began walking on, unsure where he may find his next target, but then stopped. For some reason, the King felt the desire to look back at what remained of his latest hunt. He did so and saw that the purple grass had appeared to grow out a bit farther, as though it had sought to reach out toward him.

Then River noticed that a transparent, purple mist had been emanating from the vegetation. Instinctively he should have leapt away; he knew better than to trust a potentially poisonous gas. He found that he could not look away, however, and allowed the mist to cloud around him. He was grasped by light-headedness and his surroundings began to blur and spin, growing dark. He couldn't help but think back to the ringing he felt as he woke up to a bad hangover hours earlier.

All feeling flooded back into River's body, filling the man to the brim with vigor and tearing him out of his daze. He roughly clapped his hands against his cheeks and roared, breaking the firm stranglehold the strange fog had around his mind. "WE. WILL. HUNT!" River rose his spear into the air and came back online. He finally calmed down and began to take in his surroundings.

He was _not_ where he had just been, this was fairly obvious. He was in a small cave, and the splotch of purple grass was still present, but the blades rippled out, morphing from a deep purple into a teal-blue color as his eyes traced them outward. He saw a dull light trickling in from the edge of the cave and followed the grass out with slow, unnerved strides.

The king exited the gaping opening of the cave and peered out into his new, undiscovered location. The teal grass went on for what seemed like miles, the vegetation thick and strong, each blade standing up strong before ever so slightly bending at the top to a thin coating of dew. Over yonder a fantastic vista could be seen. It stretched far and wide over the side of a huge cliff. The landscape beneath had to be thousands of meters below and spanned a vast distance. The altitude would explain the thin, cold air; he must have mysteriously found his way to a grand mountain range. The questions remaining in River's mind were which one and how he could possibly have gotten here.

River spun around and surveyed the peaks level with him to gain a firmer grasp of the situation. Once again, he observed the teal, dewed grass; it was practically everywhere, running flush with ancient-looking rocks and small cliffsides that jutted out over the plateau upon which he stood. He scanned the sky in search of the daytime star, or even one of Mewni's evening moons, but there was no ball of light to be seen.

The air was crisp and windy, colored a similar but darker teal, as though the air itself had swapped its color palette with sea. It was dim, but not dark; almost like an unending dusk. Complimenting this eerie yet picturesque place were bluish balls of light wafting through the air like lightning bugs. They seemed so corporeal, like an alien-snowfall in low gravity. When River reached out to touch the tiny balls of bluish light, they simply vanished as though they had never been there in the first place.

"I've been all over Mewni, but bugger me if I have never heard of a cave leading out to a blue mountain… Wait a minute."

River's eyes widened as he recalled a story from his childhood.

"Chilling air, floating lights, a distant summit with a mysterious blue color..." He spoke with disbelief in his voice, clearly phased by his observations.

"This couldn't possibly be the Peaks of Odin! Those stories were a myth! The Johansens were positive that nobody had been found to reach this place in at least a thousand years!"

He knelt down and felt the dew, running the grass through his bare hand. It felt so _real_ , but he wondered if it truly was real. River stood back up and walked on, exploring this mythic, dreamlike place. On occasion there could be seen a thin, peg-like tree, its branches coated in leaves of that same teal color. Rock formations were present in no particularly careful manner, and cliffsides became increasingly common.

It soon became apparent that to the king that he was steadily increasing in altitude. The air was getting colder and thinner and he could feel a twinge in his arms as the temperature dropped. After a few more minutes of walking, he was surprised to find that the dew coating the teal grass had frozen over. The grass itself was chilled and seemed permanently frozen into its slightly bent position. The grass simply crunched under his feet as he strode on, determined to find whatever was waiting for him in this place. The wind picked up, stirring the previously calm environment, and a few more slanted trees and jutting rocks and cliffsides asserted themselves.

Upon reaching the apex, River was met with a peculiarly large tree which appeared to be obscuring the mouth of another cave, gaping at least thrice as high as the top of his head. The cave looked as though it had long succumbed to the hardening pressure of the cold, covered in compacted cracks of stone. Many icicles hung down from the top of the cave's entrance, some as long as River was tall, some shattered from… some manner of activity.

 _ **THUD. THUD. THUD.**_

River's attention was drawn immediately to the ground which shook all around, rustling the thick bristles of practically crystal-tipped grass. Stomps were coming from somewhere; River assumed the culprit was approaching from inside the cave. A hand found its way out of the mouth of the cave, grasping the side of the rock wall harshly. The arm could be traced back to the massive silhouette of a bipedal creature standing high enough to practically scrape the top of the entrance. A thundering grunt could be heard as the behemoth paused to take a breath.

Moments later, the shrouded figure exited the cave, tearing through and severing many of the icicles as its features were taken in. The creature's skin was thickly coated prussian blue with massive muscles bulging from within. It had a torn and faded loincloth of some fashion and a few leathery straps and tattered shreds of clothing across his wrists and back. The creature stood over fifteen feet tall, bearing eyes of a deep indigo, devoid of pupils. This brutish monster was some manner of ancient cave troll, a legendary beast imbued with natural resistance to its environment and deadly force backing its every action. The monster snarled, flashing its dark yellow teeth and it held up what appeared to be a huge, thick blade of ice before emitting a powerful, echoing roar.

River's eyes grew wide, not in terror, but in surprise and… excitement. He was invigorated to see a challenge that rivaled the prime hunts of his gloried youth. His blood pumped with a burning warmth that negated the dull cold air whirling all around him.

"THIS IS WHAT I'D HOPED TO FIND! YOUR HEAD IS MINE, BEAST!"

As if finally provoked, the troll sprang forward and sprinted toward River with intent to kill. It charged forward and made a fist. River took a fighting stance, arms forward, and prepared to block. As the gap finally closed, the troll took aim and slammed its fist directly at him, quaking the ground and forming a crater in the dirt. Dust kicked up from below, but it didn't take long for the troll to find that its prey was missing.

River had feigned a defensive pose and reflexively dove between the troll's legs as its fist came down. Immediately he placed one foot in the joint of his adversary's knee, pushing forward and pressing all of his weight into it. The troll's exterior was rough, and brushing across, it felt like sandpaper. The maneuver was, nonetheless, effective; the monster's left leg gave out and it sailed down to the ground until it landed on its hands and knees. He saw the opening which he created and leapt onto the troll's back, taking hold of its head in an attempt to crack its neck. His confidence waned and he realized his blunder. River's attempts at twisting the monsters head to one side were resisted completely. The monster's muscles were boundless, and his efforts were futile as it grasped at River's arms and tore him off, slamming him harshly into the ground.

River tumbled and righted himself, collecting his thoughts for just an instant. ' _Dare I say, this blasted troll is stronger than I am.'_ He knew the creature would best him in a competition of brute strength, so he had to get creative with his approach. There was not enough time to work out a real course of action before his foe lunged at him again, this time with blade primed.

River finally took hold of his spear and undid the strap which held it to his back. Taking the shaft of the weapon firmly in both hands, he thrust the spear upward at one side of the ice blade, not deflecting it outright, but redirecting it to fall to one side and out of lethal range. The king rolled to the opposite side and stabbed at the thigh of the troll. Once again, his offense was met with failure as the point of the spear simply scraped along the hardened hide of the beast before sliding off into the air. The muscles throughout the monster's body acted as dense padding for its skin which made piercing it in most places practically impossible. The troll bellowed and attempted to grab hold of River with its free hand, narrowly missing the man's form a number of times.

River attempted to dive between the legs of the troll once again but found himself caught between them as the troll pressed both legs together to trap him. It took hold of his leg with and tried to lift him off the ground. River began thrashing about as concern built until his fist pummeled against the trolls toes, causing an audible reaction. The troll let go of his leg briefly, and River used this time to squeeze out of the creature's grasp.

A gleam could be seen in the King's eye as he processed this new information. He looped around to grab his spear and took aim at the monster once again who raised an arm to deflect. This time, however, his blade made contact deliberately with the monster's elbow joint, just between patches of dense muscle, and found success. It punctured the creature's skin for a few moments before dragging through and back off. A deep purple blood coated the blade and began leaking from the wound, enraging the creature further. It swung the icepick in its hand heavily at River, who responded clumsily by raising his spear's shaft to deflect.

Thankfully, there was no contact made by the weapon with his body, but the force of the troll's swing had sent the small man tumbling back a number of meters before he was able to properly catch himself. He glanced behind him and saw the tree and cave entrance, deciding immediately to move toward it. He'd had to dodge a number of lunges by the troll and deflect a number of swings before finally reaching the base of the tree. He attempted to scurry up and gain a vantage point but was once again ripped from his grip and slammed to the ground. He could feel the ache in his own muscles beginning to build, but he simply shook it off and continued.

He dodged and rolled as he looked for an idea. He needed to either outwit or outmaneuver this monster. River's feet moved along the ground near the cave entrance and he felt the dirt beneath him, realizing how softened the ground was from use. His eyes locked on the icicles of varying sizes that were still hanging from the mouth of the cave. He reasoned that if he could neither outwit nor outmaneuver the beast well enough to counterbalance his sizeable handicap, perhaps he simply had to do a little of both.

The troll rampaged and continued swinging dangerously at the River. He had a plan, but he would need to execute it flawlessly to gain the few windows of time needed for this to work. Sizing up his opponent once again, River puffed his chest and dared the monster to attack, keeping his eyes on the creature's footing. It threw a few more punches and swung its ice pick a few more times in rapid succession which River simply dodged and continued to bait. Thankfully, the troll decided eventually to come in swinging with its entire free arm, committing a lot of momentum into the next attack. River slid under the arm and took aim, jamming his spear directly into the space between its big toe and the long toe next to it. His spear pierced deep beneath the unpadded skin and drew blood for the second time causing the troll to let out an ear-shattering screech and to place a hand protectively below, wincing in pain.

River removed the spear and took this opportunity to leap onto a rock formation right beside them. He leapt to another, and then toward the side of the cave entrance. Bracing himself, he placed his feet on the wall and kicked off to grant further upward moment, readying his spear. He drove the tip of the blade into the top of the largest icicle, one easily larger than the man himself and severed the connection, allowing the pillar of ice to sail into the ground.

As River had hoped, the icicle embedded itself into the battered ground with the help of gravity and it jutted straight up. He simply vanished behind it as though taking off into the cave. The troll had since recovered from its injury and took chase into the mouth of the cave. It looked behind the icicle, further into the cave, and beneath him, but the man was nowhere to be seen. For the first time, the creature's anger gave way to some manner of tense confusion as it idled in an attempt to figure out what had just happened. Its senses failing it, the troll slammed its foot into the icicle, shattering it to pieces. It began to look all over before pacing back out of the cave and looking around for signs of activity.

... _ **SWISH**_

The troll's right side felt on fire as heat and incredible, sharp pain began to rise from it. River shouted as he sailed over the troll's shoulder, spear lodging deeply into the crook of its neck while he carried it along with his own airborne momentum. The blade tore through the weaker tendons inside the troll's scapula and sliced through a number of nerves along the way.

The creature screeched once again as it felt an indescribable agony and heat, losing control of his right arm. It twitched aggressively and lost its grip on the massive ice pick it held. Finally, River saw his chance to turn the tide of the fight and began rolling around the troll, keeping himself on the monster's right side. It continued lashing out, thrashing with its available limbs to manage some sort of retaliation, but its movements had become panicked and sluggish. River stabbed the creature's knee joint and kicked off with his foot, once again causing the monster to crash toward the ground. It attempted to catch itself, however its right side was completely non-responsive. The creature crashed to the ground with a heavy thud, unable to break the fall.

"I've quite enjoyed this game, but I can't be bothered to let this go on any longer." River systematically placed a number of wounds across the troll's joints as he moved toward the felled monster's head, granting him enough time to do so safely. When he finally looked the creature in the eyes, he saw unbridled, uncontained rage. He took one final, failed swing at River with its left arm. After he dodged the attack, he drove his spear into the troll's eye socket and forced the blade as deep as it would go.

The squishing sound could be heard as the weapon found its way through all of the tissue that remained between the eye and his final target: the brain. The spear pressed effortlessly through the weak remainder of the troll's anatomical defense structures and violently penetrated into the troll's frontal lobe. The spear went deep and, when River twisted the blade, it dismantled anything that remained of the troll's mental activity. He finally retracted his weapon and came to a rest, ending his battle and returning to a calm state.

"What a rush! I can still feel the ache in my muscles!" the king beamed with pride. His track record for the day was not one to scoff at. A number of kills piled up under his belt, each more terrifying than the last, and nothing could take these victories away from River when he inevitably returned to the castle to face his mundane duties.

"Bah, I surely must find my way back to the castle, or there is no way I will make it back without a talking to from Moonpie."

The problem remained that he wasn't quite sure where he was, at least, not geographically. All he could think was that perhaps he would have to return to where he first arrived on the mountain's peak. His train of thought was interrupted as the teal balls of light began to swirl around in the wind, something they had not previously done. The lights changed from their teal-blue color to a deep and foreboding shade of violet. They swarmed around the King and twirled while glowing brilliantly, placing the King in a state of disorientation as the balls of light bombarded his vision from all sides. What was once an icy wasteland could no longer be discerned as feeling drained from his body and the ominous purple light became all he could now make out. Then, everything faded to black.

The smell of ash.

All around an overpowering, thick cloud of soot and volcanic rock wafted through the air. It was impossible to ignore, and it seemed as though it came out of absolutely nowhere. The presence of this ashy smell was pervasive, as though the land itself had been literally tossed into a volcano.

That was the moment when River opened his eyes and looked around.

Black, grey, red, orange; everything was dead, everything was hot. This actually _was_ a volcano. There was not a patch of vegetation for miles in any direction. What could be seen instead were crag and desolate rocky soil. Lava flowed in rivers all across the region, bubbling as it stretched on endlessly in wide and thick trenches carved out by years of weathering oppression. The sky was dark, practically black. Only the bright glow of fire and lava could make this hellish landscape bright enough to be considered maneuverable. All of the flowing tributaries of molten, semi-liquefied rock could be traced back to the volcano's peak, jutting high above the grounds and spewing clouds of thick smoke in successive bursts.

To say that the small mewman was shocked to find himself here was an understatement, even if his features did not demonstrate it at this point. He was worn, tired, worried, and now discouraged.

"I cannot go on like this forever…" the King uttered, his voice low and demonstrably tormented. "I'm being forced along from place to place like some sort of pawn in a cruel god's toy."

His first thought was to seek respite. He had reserves of energy somewhere left in him, but he knew he'd need it to find his way home somehow. He no longer knew where he could possibly be. Were they still on Mewni? Perhaps this was in the underworld somewhere? It was impossible to tell, and it tortured him to think that he may never have the chance to find out. Every direction was an endless expanse of volcanic hellscape. There was no right direction as far as he could see, each was simply a new face of his ever-changing and ever-morphing purgatory.

River felt as though he was nearing his wit's end. He hasn't known where in the world he has been since the moment he left the Forest of Certain Death, and he kept getting more hopelessly lost. All he hasn't managed to screw up so far is staying alive.

 _Staying Alive…_

The thought swirled inside of him as he reached the peaks of his desperation. There was nothing about this situation that was truly normal anymore, and now his thoughts began to tailor themselves purely to his survival instincts. "If I want to get out of here… I have to fight. If this is some sort of trial, I must face it, or I will never be free."

River pounded his chest with a stimulated vigor as he clung to the last of his confidence. "WHATEVER IS OUT THERE, FACE ME AND I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD!" He shouted at the top of his lungs and demanded the undivided attention of whatever he knew was lurking in this barren deathtrap. He needed to hold out, just a little bit longer, and maybe he could finally fight for his freedom.

The unnerving silence that followed his actions was infuriating. It was as though the environment itself was taunting him for his blunt fighting spirit. Each second that ticked by caused the hairs on the back of the King's neck to stand on end. The silence was oppressive, and practically strangling him; he simply wouldn't allow it to continue any longer.

"AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" River hoisted a boulder high above his head, roaring out in his loudest voice as he lowered and smashed the thing into the charred magma beneath the ground. The massive rock crashed powerfully and cracked into the hardening rock, sinking halfway in and causing the ground to quake briefly.

River panted while attempting to regain his composure, and, possibly, just to continue polluting the air with the comforting sound of his own voice. His efforts seemed all in vain, as though nothing would ever break the horrible silence again. The sound drained away once again, and River felt his hopelessness and insanity swell to their breaking point.

Then, as quickly as those feelings set in, they vanished. The silence was finally punctured. The sound of rumbling rocks scraping together began to grow, faint at first, but steadily gaining in volume until it was practically deafening. The land began to shake; an earthquake rattled the land and threatened to toss the mewman to the ground with the ungodly, ferocity of nature.

The King stumbled but held his balance, crouching to lower his center of gravity. He took hold of his spear and drove it into the ground to hold himself steady; he would ride out the tremors with dire vigilance.

All at once the tremors picked up in severity and the sound of a low-pitched, rumbling screech could be heard, assaulting his ears. River came to and looked every which way, hoping to find his potential assailant. He scanned the land and saw nothing. Nothing was in front of, behind, or in the direction of any angle between. He looked up, scanning the skies carefully, from the peaks of the volcano to the edge of the horizon. _Nothing._ The screech happened again, this time more powerful and even more threatening in tone. The quakes ramped up further, and River braced himself. ' _It had to be below'_.

The ground smashed open violently, the agent of these earthquakes surfacing from beneath and sending lava and rock particles everywhere. The creature was stirring the pot beneath the ground and it was spitting back a storm of liquid hell and brimstone as though it were suds in a bath. There was nowhere to go; the quakes were now catastrophic in scope and for River to walk in it was as unrealistic as the possibility of him sprouting wings and taking flight.

The face of terror rose from the molten bath beneath, raising its head into the air with a primal ferocity. It was all but certainly the head of a dragon, a mythical creature with the eyes of the ancients and a rage that would never be quelled. The creature of legend was black and molten red. Nothing about its affinity for fire was subtle as lava trailed down its face like sweat and smoke leaked out of the sides of its mouth. The dragon focused its eyes toward the ground and its vision locked onto River. The monster was alarmed and evidently enraged at the presence of an intruder in its domain. It screeched with fury, and the King was forced to cover his ears. The sound of its screeches practically shook the earth on its own, and it caused a pressure inside of the King's head that sought to crack his skull and turn his brain inside out. River held fast with the resilience expected of a king and he managed to save his ear drums from annihilation, but not to spare it the beating. He could still hear, thankfully, but his ears rang as though an explosive had been detonated inches away.

The mighty dragon stirred restlessly and, soon after, raised its two massive wings ground. They stretched themselves out hungrily for open space. River saw each of them force their way out of the ground and measured the gap between them. It was huge, so far apart that even entertaining the notion of getting off of the beast's back was a pipe dream.

The ground continued to tear itself apart, chunks of rock sliding away from each other as the beast fully raised itself from the boiling bath below. River was now gaining altitude as the infernal dragon emerged in all of its terrifying splendor. If the wingspan hadn't been enough of a tell, the horrific scale of the dragon became frighteningly clear when it kicked off of the ground and shed the remains of its layer of debris. This dragon was massive, dwarfing even the most noteworthy creatures that Mewni had to offer. Where some dragons were said to attain the size of an entire room in Mewni's castle, this one was the size of a warship; a living creature truly existed which rivaled the crown jewel of a naval fleet.

River desperately clung to the scaly hide of the beast and used his body weight to anchor his spear down beneath him and flat against the dragon's rough exterior. The hazard of shaking rocks had been replaced by a mounting wind pressure that wrestled with him as he fought to maintain his grip. They were high above the ground, easily beyond the height necessary to achieve terminal velocity, and they were still ascending further. When it seemed as though the pressure was finally weakening enough to grant River a moment's respite, he eased up for just a moment on his grip. Yet another mistake it proved to be. The infernal dragon, without missing a beat, dove down and committed to a barrel roll, its body spinning a full 360 degrees multiple times. The King was startled and dug his fingers back into the creature's hide as he felt his stomach fly into his thoracic cavity and his heart practically climb into his throat.

His grip held when the maneuver had finally completed, but the dragon was still erratically flying forward. When River looked up and finally saw its target, his eyes widened. The monster was on a collision course with the volcano's peak. At this rate, it was all but certain that his winged foe was planning to smash head-first into the rock face. He studied the dragon's movements carefully, the wings were committing to quick, brief flaps, a contrast to its wide, slower pendulum-like swings that came out from them previously. The dragon's limbs were reigned in, the the head seemed to be twisting to a side, almost as though the dragon's attention were turned away from the volcano that it hurtled toward.

The gap continued to close between them when River reached a sudden realization. His adrenaline skyrocketed when it occurred to him what was about to happen. He righted himself, grabbed ahold of his spear, and stumbled forward as many paces as he could. He needed to get as close as he could to the dragon's right side before-

The king lost his balance and tripped over, digging into the hide-ground beneath him and bracing himself with gritted teeth. In the moments that followed, the wind stirred up once more while the dragon made a sharp rotation, stretching its claws and angling its wings to sharply shift momentum. After completing this redirect successfully it pivoted its back toward the rock face and screeched as its back collided with it violently. River's breath became shaky and he looked behind him; the cliffside was only a meter or so away from him. Had he not taken action he would have certainly been crushed. Sweat dripped off his brow and his heartbeat sped up.

He didn't have any time to dwell on the moment. The dragon carried its remaining momentum and drove itself back into the air. A piercing screech escaped the maw of the wyrm, forcing River to once again cover his ears. Thankfully, its movements returned to regular and more predictable ones and River was able to claw and crawl his way forward. He needed to get a better view of the monster, and so he needed to move away from the hind legs. He finally gained a sense of comfort maneuvering on the dragon's body and allowed himself to sprint with spear in hand until he crossed enough ground to reach the midsection.

The dragon violently veered left, once again causing River to lose balance and stumble, grasping spike and scale for anchorage. He looked upon the hide of the monster while he was drawn in close. There appeared to be markings of some sort on this spot, almost like a tattoo of sorts? River brushed his hands upon the markings and felt a dim heat radiating from the source, causing him to draw his hand back with greater caution. He stood back up to take in the sight. These markings spanned for a meter from one end to the other, forming a pair of circles made by some unreadable characters of a language the King couldn't understand. In the center of the circle was a glyph resembling the head of a dragon with what appeared to be chains locked across it. The dragon sigil was a faded grey, while chain markings were a pure ink black and seemed to reach out into the circle, ends twisting together and reaching left and right respectively toward the wings of the beast. Another chain stretched up toward the dragon's head, it seemed, but these markings, like in the center, were faded and non responsive. The markings that spanned east and west, however, pulsated periodically with white color which seemed to intensify the further out the chains went. River had taken this to be a signal of sorts. If this was some a trial, or even a game, there had to be merit to these details.

Steeling himself once more, the mighty mewman warrior took hold of his weapon and charged forward toward the left wing. He cleared most of the distance with a surprisingly unencumbered pace. It would be naive optimism for him to assume that the same could be expected of the rest of the way, of course. As River reached toward the airborne behemoth's massive wing, the ground lost any semblance of steadiness and his progress slowed dramatically. He simply slowed down and crept along, holding his ground whenever the wings flapped and tiptoeing on. The chains gained a radiant bright white color that was practically solid, no longer losing its glow. Clearly whatever was over here was connected to the faded markings on the beast's back. Finally, he saw it, a glowing bulbous clump of muscle sticking out of the wingtip. He had a few moments to study the mound before he was violently interrupted.

The dragon screeched, leaving River with padded ears once again, while the wings began to pick up tempo. He was losing control. Holding on was imperative, but there was no way he could safely reach the wingtip without anticipating another screech from the dragon's mouth. He held his ears and pondered. When at last the deafening sound had ceased, River had an idea. It was desperate, but he quickly discerned that it was his only course of action. He took hold of his loin cloth and tore at it until a shred no bigger than the palm of his hand was loose. Then he felt the war paint on his face. ' _Still damp. Just how much time has actually passed since I Ieft the castle?'_ He continued, tearing the fabric in half and rolled each piece up tightly, taking care to maintain his footing on uneven ground. When he was satisfied with his efforts, the king stuffed the rolled fabric into each of his inner ears respectively. Then he rubbed at his war paint until a bit came off. The slightly viscous and sticky properties of it were still readily available, as though it had barely dried. He applied some of the paint to his ears and over the makeshift earplugs and gave them a firm shove until they stuck into place. Shaking his head to either side, he was grateful to observe that they weren't going anywhere easily. Moreover, while the sound was not blocked out completely, his hearing was now fairly impaired. This would have to do.

The time for action had come, and River was poised to seize it. He tucked his spear onto his back and leapt at the flapping wing, preparing to crawl and scale it. Keeping grip was tough, but not impossible. When, at last, he had finally reached the glowing growth set in his sights, he heard the dragon's deific screech once more. He could not dare let go of the wings now. The sound was loud and piercing. It still reached his eardrums and beat against them painfully, but it was bearable now. Mewni's battle-hardened monarch was brimming with confidence as he brought one hand behind him to ready his spear. He watched the rhythm of the wings, allowing them to slow until he found his opening. He summoned his wellspring of vigor and forced the tip of his spearhead directly into the glowing corona. The moment the spear made contact, he could feel wave of internal shock flood through the dragon, made manifest by the creature's entire left side tensing and locking up. River twisted and tore the spear until it freed itself, creating a massive tear in the side of the appendage which leaked a molten lava-like magical substance. The chain markings began radiating heat and a burning sizzle could be heard as the marks began to fade.

The moment's respite came to an end as the sound of the dragon's vocal assault returned. It promised retribution, a promise which it was all but guaranteed to deliver. The great wyrm craned its neck and twisted its head back to spot the tiny mewman once again. This time its massive eyes were glowing molten white. River almost froze up in the face of his gargantuan foe, but continued to slap himself to be mobile and vigilant. The dragon raised its head and straightened its neck vertically. Smoke began to pour out of the mouth once again. When the beast's eyes met River's frame once more, it began to open its mouth. A clump of pulsating, semi-solid ooze began growing. Orange, red, yellow, and radiant white mixed together in a dangerously packed glob. There was no doubt what was coming. The puny king's adrenaline shot through his system as took his spear up and moved with reckless abandon. River continued to sprint toward the central markings to pick up speed before digging the tip of his weapon into the dragon's rough exterior and leaping. Not a moment sooner had the dragon's mouth unhinged like a snake. The beast expelled the contents of its mouth; it was a massive ball of molten, flesh-melting, blistering rock. The lava blast shot toward River's location at a frightening pace, and with its size, would have practically vaporized him in an instant. Thankfully, the man was no longer there. Through his efforts, he had successfully managed to pole vault himself well over and out of the blast radius to safety. He felt incredible heat in the air around him. Even a second of delay would have led to third degree burns or much, much worse.

He held on tightly to his spear and pulled it with him, finally coming back down and rolling to a recovery inside a cloud of smoke, steam, and debris. He wasted no time reaching the center of the monster to check over the sigils once again. Sure enough, the left chain had vanished from the entire left side of the body and from the dragon head glyph. The other remained, and it pulsed vibrantly. He would waste no time maneuvering over to handle the next mark. As the smoke cleared, the King was already making a beeline for the right side. The dragon gained altitude, and the air became thinner. The stout hunter, nevertheless, pressed forward through his exhaustion.

Another minute had passed and River was climbing the second wing, sporting another glowing, pulsating corona. As he shuffled out toward the wingtip, he suddenly felt his stomach drop and his grip tightened. The dragon lurched forward and dove down, gaining speed and losing altitude. It seemed to be preparing for something again. There was no way to know what was coming, but the wings flapped forcefully and erratically, so there was no option left for him but to hold on and grit his teeth. In seconds, gravity began to reverse. He beheld in fearful awe as the dragon committed to a slow flip until they were completely upside down. Like a child on a mad pegasus without a harness, the small man desperately held on for dear life. He clung to spike and scale and dug his nails in deep. His feet lost traction and began to dangle, but he clawed and gripped with all of his will. Only a few more moments passed when the wyrm completed its loop and returned to its rightful position.

River could not have been more grateful to loosen his grip as he felt his fingers go pale with tension. He waited no longer to approach the corona and plunge his weapon into it, tearing the clump of tissue apart once again. He leapt off the wing and sprinted for the midsection of the dragon once again. He had no idea what to expect, but he knew these markings were the key to his salvation. He sprinted forward, wary of his adversary's next action. When the lockup in its muscles relieved again, he could feel the drake's steely gaze upon him before he could even catch its eyes. Once again, the dragon seemed to be preparing a screech, or perhaps this was another ball of lava? The jaws of the beast came to life with deadly color and smoke. Something was off this time, however. It did not look at him when River prepared to evade. Instead it tilted its head to one side before the sparks in its mouth ignited like a match. A flowing line of liquid fire shot forward from his mouth, continuing out past its wing. River studied the beam of hyper-charged heat and saw that it was approaching, and fast. The drake's head continued to sweep across in an effort to purge the hitchhiker. Refusing to lock up, the King smacked himself a few more times. He wanted to keep the adrenaline pumping; he couldn't afford to stop moving now, to stop thinking. He saw a small opening beneath the heat beam and hit the deck at the last second, flattening himself against the creature's hide. It was close, incredibly close. River could feel his back hairs as the blast singed the individual follicles, making his blood churn with the sheer height of danger. Incredibly, he held together and returned to his feet.

River's body was filled with an indescribable tension, one that was unlike the feelings of danger in which the man revelled so. Danger had always made him feel thrilled to be alive, and made him value his survival instinct as a mighty, unstoppable weapon. This time, all revelry was absent. The thrill of the hunt was beyond ephemeral. All he could think about was how terrified he was at the thought that he may have abandoned his kingdom; he may have abandoned his precious wife and daughter. He felt sick to his stomach. Whatever sick being thought that this whole scenario resembled a game was beyond River's sympathy. He no longer felt like a predator; he was prey, one that had but a single hope of survival carved on his assailant's own body. Every fiber of the mewman monarch's body screamed out for escape. He knew he was cornered, and the only way out was through this dragon's corpse. There was no more room for hesitation.

The king leapt to his feet once again, taking a moment to assure his makeshift earplugs were stable before clearing the remaining distance between himself and the midsection. Sliding in, he took in the new sight before him. The chain markings once covering the dragon's head were absent, and the sigil pulsated with energy. The markings surrounding the center remained dull, though notably less faded. They animated, rotating slowly around the central sigil while the glowing markings of more chain seemed to come from within the clenched teeth of the dragon sigil, spanning forward directly toward the head of the great wyrm itself. There was no question, the next target was in the thick of danger.

Filled with a focus that could not be interrupted by anything short of Armageddon, River took quick, wide strides as he faced off against his predator head to head. The beast remained inactive during this time, almost as though it now welcomed the challenge. Harrowing as it was, River was undeterred. He faltered not in his steps, nor did he dare posture in a manner that would allow his carefully bridled fear to leak out; he simply kept stepping forward. Finally reaching the back of the drake's neck, River took a close look at the head. Sure enough, displayed freely on the crown of its head, there was a freshly unveiled corona, pulsating with tender fleshy tissue like a beating heart. It was time. He breathed in, taking the first step. The moment his foot made contact with the beast's neck, another screech powered toward and assaulted his ears, louder and more painful at point blank range. River dared not back down, allowing his ears to run with a little blood and taking step two and three.

" _ **RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHH"**_

The ferocious warrior emptied his lungs and stomped forward, daring his predator to impede his progress for another instant. The beast happily obliged. He leapt left and right, at first expecting more molten rock when the beast locked eyes with him. It was only when the dragon moved its head in close that River had realized his mistake. With a gaping maw, the winged beast snapped at the king, clenching its teeth at the tiny warrior for a quick kill. River had all but accepted that he was caught. The drake's teeth closed like industrial blades of iron with the force of a battering ram against a locked door. River felt no pain, but his feet were no longer grounded. With a brief moment's relief, the king realized his plight. He was indeed caught between the teeth of the dragon; he was caught by the loin cloth. Incredibly, the material held together in the face or such pressure. The hide with was woven to withstand a puncture from most sources, but was significantly easier to tear.

He only had another second to pull this off, so the man got back to work. Taking ahold of the cloth, he tore at it once again, allowing the caught layer to give, and then then swung himself away from the maw of the dragon and caught on to an ear with all of his limbs, using the momentum to free the rest of his loincloth from the fragment still caught between the teeth of his enemy. The dragon began to flail its head frantically, taking swipes at him with free limbs. River clenched tightly with both hands and swung like a pendulum to avoid the creatures attacks. He gained momentum once more, and brought himself to the height of his arc one more time before letting go and thrusting himself up farther onto the head of the beast. He finally caught more scales and grabbed hold, scrambling to climb atop the crown of his titanic foe.

A sense of relief washed over the River when his feet finally felt gravity's pull pressing him against the body beneath his. He wiped his brow carefully, and slowly unsheathed his spear from his back-strap once more. As he raised it overhead, he allowed energy to surge through him again. One firm strike would open up the final lock. When he finally began to lower the weapon, his balance was nearly lost all at once. The dragon raised its head and screeched again, River dropped to the head scales, but he mistakenly allowed his grip on his weapon to falter. It flew behind him, back toward the Dragon's backside. It was far away now, devastatingly distant.

River was an idiot, but he was not suicidal. He knew that going back for his weapon and making it up here again was a feat destined for a demi-god, not an old king. His body slumped, and he felt despair begin to rise. What could he do? His target was inches away, but he had not the tool needed to destroy it any longer. He felt the bottled feelings swirl around within. His fear, his adrenaline, his need to survive, his desire to see his wife and child again. He was a mess of feelings, and his desperation was raw and unbridled. It was all that he could do to prevent these feelings from snapping and pushing him over the edge…

Until the dragon clawed at his body atop its head one more time, interrupting the King's ruminations.

" _ **THAT DOES IT! YOUR TEETH AND CLAWS ARE PATHETIC. I WILL SHOW YOU. RAAAAAAAAAGH"**_

That final string that separated his survival instinct from his pessimistic rationality had been cut. River was angry. He roared like a lion and screeched back at the dragon before leaping at the corona at full force. He sunk his teeth into the creature's flesh and became to rip and tear. He clawed at the mound of tissue with his hands, driving his nails and scraping over and over at the weak spot. It took a fair number of tries, but he finally found success as his teeth ripped deep enough to puncture a hole into the spot, allowing oxygen to enter the hole. He soon moved his hands in and tore open as big a hole as he could, one big enough to cause another lockup for the monster. The contents drained off the side of its head, and the chain marking brimmed with heat and disintegrated.

Clearing his mouth of the vile taste of the creature, he spun around and set his sights on the dragon's back again. He knew his time was short when the dragon began to move once again. It tilted its head up and lifted its neck without bothering to look back. River let go and slid down the neck, gaining enough speed to leap the rest of the way. He crashed gratefully onto the dragon's back again. He didn't have long to revel in his successful maneuver when he realized the dragon was starting to change. The scales and spikes began to glow and heat up. Lava excreted and pooled from its body all over as though the scales were hiding pores which were now secreting the stuff en masse. He took steps toward the tips of the spikes before looking back at the monster's head.

No sooner had River identified one danger than had another sprung to life. The dragon's face glowed and smoked, facing the sky. Its mouth unhinged and puffed. The body began to shake, and the dragon's mouth separated even further as a massive clump of molten rock formed. Then, as though it were being pressured further, a beam of energy shot out around it, begging to be free. With a final push, the mythical wyrm let loose volcanic fireworks, pushing into the sky before exploding above them. The king's eyes nearly popped out of his skull as a cloud of lava particles began to descend all around him. Keeping his inhibitions at bay, he hopped forward and began to race toward the dragon's center. He found his spear layed carelessly below on the dragon's back and took hold of it without bothering to slow down. Drops of hyper-thermal lava rained from above, and the distance between each piece dwindled. He swerved from side to side; he sucked in his gut; he dove and sprung to his feet. A few times he used the tip of his spear to slice the chunks away, but even they threatened to soften and melt the limbering metal of his weapon. Even the beads of sweat on his forehead began to heat up as he felt hell falling all around him.

When River finally saw his goal in sight, he saw just beyond it the edge of the firestorm. There was no way he could dare to stay and finish this now, not with the torrent of heat coming down. He desperately leapt for safety and rolled past the hazards' reach. _***Sizzzzzzz***_ " _ **YOWWWCH!**_ " the king yelped. He rolled forward, looking back to find a scorching burn mark on the backside of his right calf. It had barely been nicked, but even a nick of this substance was dangerous enough to scald and burn through flesh in seconds before cooling to rock. He counted himself lucky that he still had flesh at all. As he watched the rest of the volcanic hail, the man rubbed his leg with one hand while ruffling his beard hairs with the other. His hair, too, had been signed and burned off in select places. The king sighed. He was worn, he was thoroughly tried, and he was exhausted. River was ready to end this, and every fiber of his being screamed at him to finally bring his mythical foe down.

The shards of molten rock and hellfire began to fizzle out, and soon an end to the obstacle was in sight. He readied his weapon and advanced back toward the central space on the monster's backside. Sure enough, the chains had vanished once more. The glyphs were gone as well. All that remained was a single, large corona. A swift strike and tear should do it. River gritted his teeth and took the strike, plunging his weapon in and carving out a chunk large enough to empty its contents. When he did, however, there was no noticeable reaction from the wyrm, as was expected. The molten fluid drained out of the hole, but nothing else happened. Anxious but curious, River tore away more of the exterior to widen the hole. He peered inside for some sort of clue, a tip, anything. He heard the beast screech once again, and looked up to see it facing him once more, smoke dripping from its mouth. There was no question where his next projectile was headed, and River didn't think he had it in him to dodge another blast of such magnitude. Adrenaline flowed through him again and he forced his attention frantically back toward the hole in his wound. He needed a sign, something had to be there…

 _ ***-m bum bumbum bum…***_

The sound was unmistakable. He looked in closer, and saw the dim outline of a globular object pumping and twitching from inside the molten pool that filled the hole. _The heart_. Locked behind magical seals and stowed away, the heart was without a doubt the fragile, necessary target that River sought. With smoke rapidly clouding around the dragon's face, the king knew there was no time left to think. He readied his spear. ' _One… Two…'_ "THREE!" He threw everything that was left of his energy into one final thrust, bringing the weapon straight through the heart with a splash, a shred, and a sizzle.

Silence. For a moment, there was only silence. Nothing could be heard, no action had been taken. It was as though this moment had been frozen in time. Everything seemed slow and grey. But it was not over yet. Suddenly time snapped back into place. River could feel the tension as the beast locked up once again, this time more fiercely than ever before. He wasn't sure what to expect. There was no indication that he do anything else. He looked up to meet the dragon's gaze, and what he saw would stay with him forever. The face of the dragon was motionless and wide. It was practically cold. He had never imagined he'd ever see a nightmarish creature like this wearing the face of petrification. Then, all at once, the beast was seized with a violent thrashing motion. A horrifying bellow echoed from the mouth of the creature and suddenly it lowered its head and dipped down. They were descending. The body of the dragon glowed a bright orange and yellow, lava erupting like geysers from pores across its extremities.

River squatted instinctively and held on tight. If there was any hope of survival, he knew it meant reaching the ground safely. All there was to do was lay flat, spread his weight out, and brace. He gripped his sinking vessel and girded up his loins. The screeching winged behemoth shone brilliantly in the sky as it descended. Surely to any observer below such a sight would resemble a comet or a shooting star freshly entering Mewni's atmosphere, but beneath the glimmer of such beauty, the fates of two lives were being decided. The ground became bigger and closer, and soon both man and dragon had boiling blood. The king clung tightly, digging into the cushion of the dragon's massive body, barrelling toward the land beneath. With an incredible crash they made contact. All of their momentum rushed into the ground, shattering the craggy surface and sending shockwaves rippling in all directions.

For just a moment his eyes were closed, but when he had opened them, it seemed that it was all over. Finally, the world was naturally still. The weary fighter righted himself carefully, practically losing balance a few times along the way. His head was spinning. He had splitting aches all across his body. His leg was deep red with remnants of the scorching he had received. Carefully, he could move himself while he regained his faculties. He sought to dismount the creature. Instinctively, River glanced back toward his adversary's head, expecting to see eyes of hatred and smoke. Instead, he was greeted with a half-melted smile. The dragon's constitution had long since began to give way, and now the limbs, head, neck, and tail were beginning to dissipate, evaporating into the air and leaving behind husks of cool, inanimate rock. With one last look, he turned away and finally climbed off of the beast, thankful for the feeling of solid, unmoving ground beneath his feet. He welcomed the sturdy footholds with open arms, even allowing himself to lay into it.

For the first time since he entered this place, River began to see it for its beauty, finally free of the foe he had to face. He looked toward the sky where glowing particles of steam climbed from the dragon's body. He looked at the stars. It was well past the beginning of the evening here, wherever _here_ was. It was restful, even though he knew he'd have to eventually get back up and try to find out where he was; somehow he knew he'd make it home. River felt his eyelids grow heavy, no longer feeling the desire to fight back against his biological needs, and momentarily allowed them to close.

He could have sworn it was only a second, not even, that he had allowed his eyelids to shut, but part of him wondered if he had already been laying there for hours, or even days. He opened his eyes again to take in his surroundings for clarity. Unfortunately, the king found himself even more confused when he was met with a pitch black void. All he could see now were the remains of the dragon, still disintegrating before him. The pieces rose into the air, particles glowing a dull gold color. As he blinked his eyes, he observed again. He could have sworn he remembered the particles glowing a dull gold color. What he saw, however, was a growing cloud of violet petals, twirling around in a growing cloud of mist. It grew rapidly as the dragon's corpse accelerated in its disappearance. It swelled and surrounded him, making his senses dull. His mind felt fuzzy, memories started to twist together. He could vaguely remember holding a rock in his hands. He saw his Moonpie, his daughter, and even her pal Marco. Before the gears in his head could start to turn, everything went blank.

It was peaceful. Still dark, but quiet. The sound of insects chirping could be heard from off in the forest now more than a few meters away. The stars were out, and a breeze shuffled through the trees and stirred the grass.

Helping the grass shift around, was River, who was groaning in intense pain after his latest bout. His tired eyes drifted open, feeling as if a fog was coating his vision. Trying to get off his knees, he looked around, feeling somewhat relieved. "I.. I'm back home. But this is still far away from the castle." For some reason, the sky was an ominous red color, even with stars punching through all across. He decided not to give his attention to it and brought himself to his feet.

Trying to walk in his lumbering form, River felt his bare feet stomp the weathered stone ground beneath him, trying to take in the sights. He narrowed his eyes, feeling the entire village was 'off', as if something was missing. Before he could ponder on it much, he felt his legs grow weak, falling on his knees once more. "No, I need to get up. For… Moon. For Star." He forced himself back up, gritting teeth at his body finally accepting all the damage dealt to it.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" Loud, ear-piercing screams echoed across the village, making River's nerves grow antsy. Despite any pain, he felt his body rush toward the voice's source. He stopped though, feeling tension looming over him. His body shook with hesitation, perhaps even fear; River shrugged it off. He marched deeper into the town and his eyes narrowed at the sight before him.

Dark creatures, with demonic wings and lifeless yellow eyes glared at the town, seemingly in packs. Large, small and in between, these monstrous beings attacked people left and right. River instinctually charged into the creature hovering over the lifeless body of a woman who was cradling a tiny child. He tried throwing a punch in the creature's jaw but recoiled at the pain shooting through his body. River glared at his fist; he saw scalding burn marks coiling around his first. "You…" He clenched the fist and tried landing another punch, feeling the intense pain intensifying and proceeding to flow through his body with every blow. The creature just carefully maneuvered using it's large wings to gust River back after he 'landed' a hit. It tilted it's head, looking like a lost child and twitched somewhat before showing its large mouth slowly curling into a grin.

The thing made incoherent mumbles; it was speaking a language neither mewmans nor humans had ever heard, flying off with the crying child. He reached out desperately, knowing that he had already failed. Something inside of him snapped. He knew it was no use, and for once, he was all but petrified with fear. Not just for himself, or even for the hapless innocents that were now falling prey to a surprise armageddon. No, he was terrified that his family was facing this too, hidden away somewhere without him. _Or possibly already dead…_ He ran. He was sore, exhausted, ashamed. But if there was one thing still on the beaten down king's mind, it was to see his family again. He had to know if they needed him, or if there was anything he could do to protect them.

The agony of Butterfly Kingdom could be recognized with all possible senses, and these sensations continued to bombard its king as he raced through the streets, ragged and worn. He slid under shacks, squeezed in between buildings, and hustled through courtyard and field until the vista of Butterfly Castle grew to life-sized proportions. He looked around, spotting no sign of the pitch black beings and rushed out into the open and then into the castle as quickly as he could manage. It was cold inside. All light was absent and, for the life of him, River couldn't hope to pick his brain for any idea as to how he might procure a proper light source. He pressed forward. Sounds of pain echoed from the town outside, each scream utterly chilling the king's blood as he pressed forward. He checked Star's room. He checked the dining room and kitchen. He searched his and the queen's bedroom along with numerous guest rooms. There was noone and there was nothing to be found.

After a solemn and lonely search that persisted for what seemed like hours, he made his way to the throne room. He knew it would be empty, but it didn't feel any better to know that when he saw it dark and abandoned. He had been everywhere. There was simply no sign of his family, or anyone he knew for that matter. River took a seat on one of the steps below his throne and buried his face in his hands. He was utterly crushed. It felt like just this morning he woke up and everything was fine. The guards saw him out, he was brimming with vigor and excitement, and Mewni was as peaceful as could be. On second thought, it felt like years had come and gone since his last vivid memories of a moment that felt _right_. He couldn't put his finger on it anymore. He hadn't seen Star or his wife in… how long? He couldn't remember. He was starting to question if he could even remember their faces had he seen them. He was sure that he was truly going mad.

That's when a large frame caught his eye. He looked over and studied the all too familiar portrait of their small, happy family standing together in dignified poses. None of them seemed happy, or even really emotive in slightest, but he remembered that day. It took practically forever to keep Star from budging, and even longer still for Moonpie to convince her to present herself with "poise and grace". The king vaguely recalls sweetening the deal with a secret camping trip in order to win her over. Finally the defeated man was able to smile once again. Seeing those prim and proper faces while remembering the joy and love that hid beneath them filled him with fleeting, intoxicating warmth. When the moment passed, River was sure he'd all but lost himself, and began wailing atop his lungs.

"I SURRENDER. I GIVE UP! Whoever, or whatever you are, you win!" he bellowed. "I've played along with your scuffles, but I can't win this time! Just, please, let me see my Moonpie again. Let me see my baby girl!" River traced circles on the floor with his index finger while he layed back on the seat. His other hand was balled into a fist. He knew he couldn't will himself to move any longer. He had nowhere else to go and nobody to go to. His mind was shrouded in shame and grief. River balled up his other hand and punched the floor, bowing his head and staring at the cracks between the checkered tiles. It was not certain whether he was unaware of numerous shadow creatures surrounding him or that he simply no longer cared, but he failed to react, perhaps he refused. The fallen king looked up to finally acknowledge his predicament, and his survival instinct screamed at him to at least look for an opening. There were no chinks in their formation. Hopelessness for the first time began to take over the small, vulnerable man. ' _I… I lost. I can't save anyone. I can't even touch these blasted things!_ _I abandoned my people, and my own family. I am…'_ The king continued to imagine the slaughtered innocents, now blaming himself for their deaths by the creatures across the town. He allowed a lone tear to grace his exhausted face. 'I am no king.' He reached up to his head, as if prepared to remove his crown. He was almost disappointed to find that he had thought to leave it behind. He desired nothing more than to violently tear it away and smash it at his feet. He looked down at the cold, lonely floor, awaiting a properly bitter end.

"NARWHAL BLAST!" A familiar voice screamed, sending the creatures flying back. River felt his limbs tense up, fearing that her voice wasn't real. He's been alone for all of this time, and wishful thinking was dangerous. Allowing his eyes to finally scan the room, he was met with the worried expression of his daughter and that of her friend, one of King Pony Head's daughters from the Cloud Kingdom. "Daddy…"

"Star? How…" He coughed painfully and allowed his tense nerves to go limp. He attempted to stand so he could go to her, but immediately collapsed when placing strain on his right leg. Star went to him and used her free arm to lift River up, the two glaring at the incoming monster swarm. "We… We can't fight them. Nothing works. They hardly even seem like they're real"

"Uh… King sir?" Pony Head asked, raising an eyebrow at River. "This is all, like, sorta a big dream spell or something." River spat, not believing such lies. "But it, is. So what had happened was, me and B-fly got here through some dream magic or whatever." Star glared at Pony, who gave a defensive expression. Star turned to her father, chanting mumbles to herself. A faint white glow covered River, seemingly hearing her wounds, but he still look exhausted.

"Dad, I… I don't know _how_ to get you… Or _us,_ out of here." Pony Head made an annoyed look but one from Star silenced her on the spot. "But I think it's due to you realizing something. Like this is all fake and stuff maybe." River frowned, shaking his head.

"Pumpkin… you may be right, but I've already failed. I wasn't able to protect all these people." He made a sweeping motion with his hands, the carnage on full display. Star and Pony grimaced at seeing such violence, looking back at River. "I failed the kingdom during Ludo's invasion… And this, what we are seeing now…" He clenched his fists, grinding his teeth somewhat. "I fought so many things, my Starlight, horrifying creatures out of tales I read to you as a baby girl. No matter how real or fake this world is, I'll never be able to forget what I've gone through here." The king lamented, pointed at his scorched leg. "But nothing was more painful than knowing I was not strong enough to save my people, or to find our home empty. I abandoned everyone. I am no king."

Star felt tears swelling up inside of her until they spilled out. Droplets trickled down her face as the realization of what he's been through sunk in. ' _This wasn't just a dream to him.'_ She turned and enveloped her father in a crushing hug. He wrapped his arms around Star, breaking down for the first time around his only child. Star felt rage travel through her body, _knowing_ what caused this whole mess. The feeling of powerlessness coursing through her was just angering her further. Trying to trudge through this dream world, seeing _her_ Marco turn on her, seeing her father, one of the strongest figures in her life, his soul broken like a twig. Star didn't know if she could ever undo this, or even what exactly they had to do next, but she just hugged her father, gently patting his back. She prayed from the deepest parts of her that she could take away this monumental trauma from her beloved parent. For now, they had to settle for survival.

The moment didn't last long, with the monstrous shadows looming over the trio. Pony Head nervously gulped, while Star glared at them with murder in her blue eyes, radiating her will. To her surprise though, it was River who stood tall and cracked his knuckles. "So… You _creatures_ aren't real after all. This is just a _dream_. I had my fill of adventure and want to wake up. Star, care to join your old man in one more scruff for the day?"

Star saw the fire in her father's eyes, a fire she saw time and time again during hunting trips and whenever danger was on the horizon. The broken man she found mere moments ago had seemingly been replaced all at once by the man who raised her and gave her the indomitable spirit she possesses. Perhaps it would be enough just to be here for him. She grinned, entering battle position. The duo charged at the creatures, flying fists and storms of spells dancing into the air. At first, their attacks simply phased through the creatures as all of River's had previously. It didn't take long for Star to surmise that these creatures were made of some kind of pure, magic energy. The creatures surrounded them once more and flew in toward them. River and Star stood back to back. "I have an idea, but I need a moment to get it ready" Star said. River understood and sprung into action. He placed his hands behind him, giving Star a foothold before launching her overhead. She sailed over the formation of shadows, meanwhile the king took a deep breath and picked up speed before diving and sliding beneath the creatures that closed in on him. Star flipped around and fired a slew of colorful beams from her wand before catching herself and moving behind her father once again. Then she began to chant, placing her feet together and waving her wand in the shape of a waxing crescent moon. "Fill our hearts with light, let it radiate from our core, May our darkest foe cast a shadow no more."

Her wand glimmered a bright golden color. It felt as though something was being sucked out from within, as though a magical essence could be felt surrounding them. Star was coated from head to toe in a thin veil of golden magic, almost like a bubble or aura of some sort. River took a deep breath and struck a pose as the golden light reached its apex and concentrated itself around his fists, wrists, calves and feet. He could feel the dull searing on his leg begin to cool and renew itself, and a strange mystical sense of control running through his muscles. He understood.

" **THIS. ENDS. NOW!"** River roared as he charged toward the horde of darklings. Star kept a careful distance and aimed her wand, preparing suppressive fire. The creatures became uneasy and swung side to side to dodge Star's blasts. When River finally cleared the gap between them, he caught one of the creatures looking past him, clearly still distracted. He raised his dominant arm and felt the energy ripple across his fist before letting his best punch of the day fly forth. It crashed into the creature with a weight that was impressive even to River. It connected with the creature's face before launching it back into another. They crashed hard into the wall, blasting against it with a sort of splash. Not another moment later, the creatures had ceased to be. The other shadows stretched themselves out with primal hostility and swarmed their assailant with malevolent intent. He kicked off the ground, gaining a fair bit of air and flipped over headfirst. As he came toward the ground, he swung his legs, carrying his body in a full circle. They finished their arc and made contact with the creatures, pushing them back and apart from one another.

"You'll regret the day you messed with any version of my world." the King snapped while his body returned to the ground. He landed on both hands and focused his strength into them. The bright vortexes around his wrists swirled and crackled as he shoved off of the ground, launching his body in the direction of one of the shadows. He took aim and placed his weight into one leg. With blinding speed and deadly accuracy the man carried his entire body weight into a dynamic kick, punching a hole straight through the shadowy creature and causing it to implode and dissipate. He caught himself with his hands and feet and made a quick recovery. Three creatures remained of the bunch each looking furiously at River. They fanned out and raised their claws in an offensive pose, preparing some manner of attack formation. Before they could manage, Star sent a rainbow fist punch spiraling toward one of them. It collided with it easily, punching it backward it and breaking their formation. The other two advanced toward River, one at either flank, and the energy in their bodies shifted. Their bodies de-stretched, becoming smaller as some of the shadows' energy transferred itself to their claws, which grew at least thrice their normal size. River simply spit to one side and raised his fists, growling at them with all the pent up rage that has festered from within. The light surrounding his fists morphed until they, too, resembled large, dangerous claws of magic. He turned to walk toward one creature, giving his back to the other completely. His steps were no longer quick, but they were heavy, dignified, terrifying. The shadow before him lunged forth, taking a rip at his entire torso. River narrowed his eyes, stared darkly into the voids of his foe's soulless eyes and he raised his right arm. It was a swift, deliberate action that was filled with the will of a man who faced hell and returned. The shadow's claw collided with the aura around his claw, stopping immediately. The black claw trembled as it attempted to push back against River, but not a nerve in his body even strained in resistance as he effortlessly held back the struggling creature's attack. In two swift motions, he swiped his arm outward, completely disarming his foe, and then pushing forward to puncture five holes in the beasts torso. He closed his fingers and the claws followed suit. Then he slammed the claw into the ground, and the shadow exploded helplessly.

For a moment, it had been quiet. "Dad, look ou-" The king moved his other hand behind his back and caught the attack of the shadow behind him. The last one, recovering from Star's spell charged toward him, but it too was stopped by River's other free hand. For the first time, a sense of desperation seemed to resonate from the two creatures as they found themselves against an untouchable foe with a look in his eyes that screamed genocide. River swept their arms aside and wrapped each claw around their respective necks. He pulled them together, drilling fury into their bodies from his optic nerves. "You'll never understand what it means to feel the shame of thinking you've lost a kingdom, a home, a family." Finally, he slammed the two shadows together, crushing what remained of them with his arm strength and his fiery spirit. They broke over each other like glass, popping and fading from existence as they emitted their last shrill cries.

Star breathed a sigh of relief and beamed at the sight of her father. Dream or not, it was his spirit that he was wielding so flawlessly, and she was pleased to know that she was only the catalyst.

"Are they-are they gone yet, B-fly?" Pony Head peeked out from behind a pillar.

"How many more do we have to deal with?" Star queried.

River dusted himself off and fastened his spear. "We'll find out shortly, let's get outside," he replied. Regardless of what remained, he knew there was nothing left to do but face it.

They walked outside and made their way to the center of town, occasionally stopping to dispatch more of the shadowy creatures. Slowly, the dark red skies shifted to a dark, royal blue. The monstrous creatures that were so hostile before were suddenly going down effortlessly with a simple punch or blast. When only a single shadow remained, it simply fled and continued making panicked screams. Star glared at the creature, feeling her wand crackle with dark pink lights. "Tell Eclipsa, I am coming for her." She blasted the creature square in the face. As it popped like a firework, a crackle could be heard shooting out from all around. The world collapsed and disintegrated around them in violet swirling shards of magic. It twirled around and closed in toward them, but before it could affect them, a bright light covered River, Star, and Pony Head and repelled the mist. It began to dissipate, leaving behind no trace, until all that remained was the blinding white light, stretching across their vision and blinding them completely.

River shot awake and sat up in the bed, making a loud gasp. "PUMPKIN!? MOONPIE! Where are…" He looked around, catching the groaning forms of Pony Head and Star, looking as though they had only just woken up themselves. Pony Head was whipping her hair to and fro dissatisfied, while Star rubbed her temple and blinked her eyes repeatedly. "My baby girl, are you okay?"

"Never better, dad…" Star mumbled, getting up and stretching her back. "Some dream you had." She looked toward Moon, seeing her body shake frantically in place, her face making various expressions shifting from panicked fear and blissful joy. "Mom's… Suffering too I think." Star turned to Tom and Janna, seeing them hunched over and knocked out cold near Moon's side of the bed. "What are they doing?"

"Got… Inside… Head…" Star noticed Glossaryck half-mumble, the blue man still floating over Moon. Star and Pony studied the forms of the two, witnessing a look of horror.

"That's looks _bad_ girl." Pony Head comments but River's expression was one of anger and determination. "Hold up, king. We just, like, nearly died in your head." Star walked over to River, giving a knowing look. "Girl? You aren't going inside to help…"

"I don't know Pony." Star answered, looking at her wand, which was glowing a faint purple.

"I'm quite certain that won't work anyhow" Glossaryck chimed in. The three glared up at him expecting some manner of follow up. "The rock is already imbued with Tom's demonic magic, and trying to tamper with it further could make it difficult for those two to find their way back to their bodies. I'll keep an eye on things, just take a breather, you loons." Star and River calmed down at that and decided to put a little faith in the Lucitor boy and the Earth girl. "I hope they'll be alright." Star muttered with concern. She allowed her thoughts to wander for a moment until she was reminded of what happened before all of this. "Marco…" Star deflated and thought back to their last exchange before he disappeared into the Forest of Certain Death. She rose to her feet and walked over toward the window facing the forest and stared out at it. ' _Where are you Marco? What happened to you?'_

Stars ponderings were violently interrupted by a bright violet flash coming from the direction of the forest. She fell backward attempting to shield her eyes and landed on her butt. Not two seconds later, the floor itself began rustling. The entire castle was shaking, a few objects falling over from precarious shelves and cracking on the ground. The quakes lasted for a good ten seconds before stilling again.

"What in corn was that all about?" Pony Head yelled.

"I'm… not sure." Star muttered. "Whatever it was," she stood up and peered back out at the Forest of Certain Death, "it probably wasn't good news."

 **Chapter 13 was written by Kuriyan BBQ and RK128.**


	14. Dreamscapes, Part 4 - Revelations

A whirlwind of contradicting thoughts and emotions were running inside of Eclipsa's head. She hadn't felt this alive for centuries, but these feelings were built on false pretences and she knew that; she knew that very well. But here she was: exposed and vulnerable to a boy who thought she was his pregnant wife. She wanted to cloud his mind with false memories, to convince his brain and heart to fall for her. However, after what happened the previous night, she had to ask herself: who was playing who at this point?

Eclipsa looked back and saw Marco sleeping like a log in her bed. He looked so peaceful, so happy. As she was losing her thoughts imagining what that transpired that night, she suddenly realized that she too felt just like that. And more. Way more. She was even burning inside.

She gasped. "Mirror!" She quickly came to her wardrobe and picked up small mirror laying on top of it. When she looked into it, she saw the source of burning sensation. She was blushing. The Queen of Darkness was glowing red because she slept with a boy she kidnapped. Because…

"Oh no. What have I done…"

Because.

"Why have I allowed myself to let it come to this? I know better. I am _supposed_ to know better!"

She angrily tossed the mirror back down. The force was too great and the small item shattered.

"Dammit."

"Karin? I heard something breaking. Is everything alright?"

"Oh! I didn't mean to wake you up."

He went straight to her to check what caused the noise.

"Is that blood?!"

"What?"

"On your hand."

She checked her hand and noticed that small bits of shrapnel cut her finger. "This is nothing. I don't even feel it."

"You need to be more careful." He gently took her hand in both of his and inspected it. "Hmm. It doesn't look serious."

With each passing second he was holding her hand, the burning sensation inside her body was intensifying.

"I-I'm okay." Her voice almost gave up.

"You don't sound okay."

"Really, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired."

"Oh. Well. Sorry for that, I got a little carried away." He smiled. "As did you, I suppose."

No matter how hard she tried to act natural, she couldn't keep going. Inside his head, it was all dreams and fiction. It was nice and pleasant, but ultimately without consequences. However this was reality and she put herself into a position she couldn't escape without ruining everything. But what was 'everything' at this point? She snatched him away from the girl he loves and replaced her with her own image just to hurt her. And she did that. But her original plan was to go further. Way further. The prospect of this plan wasn't so appealing anymore. She wanted to make them to suffer, but instead she made herself happy. Because she lo-

"NO!"

Eclipsa raised her hand, touched Marco's forehead and put him into sleep. He crumbled down to the floor. She kept looking at him with troubled face.

"What am I going to do about you?"

As she was contemplating his purpose in her life, another question slipped into the forefront of her mind: "What am I going to do about _us_?"

* * *

He couldn't see much. Darkness was enveloping his surroundings and his senses. There were no sounds, no concrete objects he could fix his eyes on. Only some sort of nondescript, blurry blot somewhere in the distance. There was, however, one thing that was present the whole time: smell. He could've sworn this was the smell of something wet. It wasn't unpleasant, just unusual for him. He never really experienced this sensation before. But by the looks of things, that was about to change soon. The blot was getting closer, or he was getting closer to it. It was hard for him to approximate anything in this realm, wherever this realm might have been. Whatever the case, his involuntary destination was nearing swiftly, and with the distance closing, its contours were getting more concrete shapes.

He saw buildings of various shapes, sizes and colors. They weren't very tall, but they stretched far away, almost to the horizon. Their architecture was also something exciting to behold. Windows weren't put on with any logic behind them. Some of them didn't even have doors. But most of them were emanating some kind of sound. It was a strange mixture of random noise, voices and what appeared to be a music of some kind. He didn't recognize it, but for some reason he liked. It was soothing him.

So instead of waiting this construct to reach him, he decided to go to it. With just one step, he was standing at the beach, with his bare foot dug into the warm sand. The music he was being drawn to was now all around him, along with all of those strangely shaped houses. He was locked between them and the endless ocean spreading wide and deep. Lights from the lanterns were gently glowing at its surface, but beyond them there was just pitch black. As above, so below.

"The sea." The sudden voice he heard belonged to a young girl standing next to him. Her head barely reached his neck. "It's calling me. I have to go." She silently went on into the still water, as if she was just taking a stroll through park. As if the dark pits beneath were her home.

And with her disappearing below, everything around him went away with her. It was just a vast space of nothingness, a complete absence of anything corporeal. His only companions were his own thoughts. Suddenly, a weird red mist started to surround him. It was thick and heavy, but it seemed almost alive… and pissed.

"You may have not believe me, but you will believe her shadows of the past."

A cold hand landed on his shoulder. "EMBRACE THEM!"

"Whoa!" Marco fell to the ground. "Damn that hurts!" He grabbed his bed and put himself back to his feet. He could clearly see that the sheets were still neatly folded on each other. "What the…?" He looked around and noticed that this was indeed his room, although a bit emptier than he remembered it. "Where is all of my stuff?"

"MARCOOO? What is taking you so long? I'm boiling down here!"

It was Karin's voice coming from downstairs. He couldn't understand why stuff was now missing from his own room, let alone what she meant by that. For that matter, it was a mystery to him how he even ended up in here. Was he sleepwalking? It is true that he tended to do that when he was having nightmares, but they were getting a lot better lately. In fact, he could finally go bed without shaking with fear worrying about what horrors his mind would unleash at him. Wait…

He went out of his room and and took a few steps to the right, passing by the bedroom of Karin's parents. The doors he was interested in were a bit further, near the stairs. He opened them and he saw Karin's room, albeit different. It was packed with various extra things and when he opened a random cupboard, he saw some of his own stuff perfectly folded next to hers. His mind was working really hard to make sense of all of this.

And then it hit him. "Of course! This is _our_ bedroom. Whoa, that dream really must have been something. And… it's already fading away. What was it about again?"

He was buried so deep inside his own thoughts that he didn't hear angry footsteps coming from below and then swiftly approaching. When they stopped just behind him, he was completely oblivious to the fact that he was not alone anymore.

"There you are!"

"Huh?" He turned around and saw Karin standing there with a nefarious look in her eyes. Probably because of the thick layer of clothes she was wearing.

"Oh, you- You must be joking."

"What? I don't-"

"Don't tell me you forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"Marco!"

"I'm sorry, I-" It took him a while, but he eventually put two and two together. "Are you going out?" And from them he managed to make three.

"No, _we_ are going out. How could you forget? I was planning this for a week!"

"Okay, I give up."

"Oh my- I told you that today I have a surprise for you and that you have to be ready by early morning to go out. Several times!"

Whatever that dream was, it shorted out his memory really bad, because only now did it start to come back to him. Only partially, but enough for him to realize that if he didn't move his ass pronto, he'd be in trouble.

"Oooooh, riiiight. Now I remember! You wanted to show me something today. I'm sorry, I just had this-"

"Look, just suit up and come down. But let me tell you, you aren't making a good first impression on my father after that heated discussion we had yesterday. I'll try to do some damage control, but truth to be told…"

Now _that_ he really didn't want to recollect. Karin saw fear creeping out of his eyes. She came closer and gently kissed him on his cheek.

"My apologies, I got carried away. And just so you know, I'm blaming your daughter for this - she is clearly affecting me with her fiery spirit. Listen, I'll go down and explain it to him. Somehow. It'll be alright. You just take your best clothes and come down, okay? I'll be waiting for you there."

And with these encouraging words, she left him alone with his extremely unpleasant memories of his last encounter with her father.

"Great. Just - great. Husband of the year, that's for sure." He started to to check his wardrobe for appropriate dress. "Sometimes I feel like I don't even deserve any of this. Her. Them- ah, here they are." He pulled out a black tuxedo with a tall black hat. He kept looking at them with doubts. "I will look ridiculous." He tried the hat and, as he feared, he did look ridiculous. "But I'm doing it for Karin, so I'll endure."

After getting dressed and checking himself over one last time in the mirror to the point that he could barely look anymore, he decided to go down to where his spouse was waiting for him. He thought he knew what to expect; he was wrong. There were her parents alright, however Karin herself was… well, she took his breath away. The sunlight enhanced every single part of her in a way he didn't think was even possible. His heart always jumped every time he saw her, but now he literally forgot to breathe.

"Well? Don't just stand there, come on down. We need to go," said Karin.

"Oh? Right."

He was nervous. So nervous in fact that he almost tripped over himself. He managed to regain his balance just in time.

"You alright?"

Even talking to her was getting harder. "Uhm, y-yes? Yes. Of course."

"What has gotten into you?"

Her mother standing next to her was witnessing this with great joy.

"You did, my dear," she explained with a wide smile.

"What do you mean?"

"Look into his eyes."

So she did and for the moment she thought she saw a boy seeing his dream come true. With that dream being herself. Now they were both hopelessly looking at each other.

"Ugh!" This was perhaps the first time that Karin's father was able to squeeze all of his thoughts into a single syllable. With nothing else to add, he left the scene.

"I'll leave you two alone." Karin's mother, on the other hand, was grateful she could witness through her daughter what she never had the chance to experience herself.

And so, with both of her parents gone from the scene, only the couple remained, together with this heavy anticipation hanging in the morning autumn air.

"Oh, come on, you. I don't look _that_ great!" Karin has genuinely started to feel shy. An emotion she rarely ever felt, even before the incident.

"You are right, you're not," replied Marco and started to descent down.

Now this type of feeling was like a second nature to her. Marco could see how his words were slowly eating her happiness from inside. But he didn't seem to care. With no change in pace, he continued stepping down the stairs and stopped just few centimeters in front of her. Marco grabbed her hand and looked into her troubled eyes.

"You're not that great, or any other great. Because your beauty isn't of this world, so how can I possibly describe it?" He raised her hand and gently kissed her. "I mean, sure, I could try. It's only morning, so if you'll give me a pen, paper, a silent room and several hours, I might put something together." To finish his grandiose performance, he put on his boyish smile that Karin could never resist.

In the window of a mere three seconds her face displayed a remarkable recovery from that of a hurt puppy, through one of angry realization, to one betraying an irresistible urge to jump him on the spot.

She slapped him instead. "Don't do this to me ever again!"

"Ah! What did I do?"

"Stop playing with my emotions."

"I just tried to be romantic."

"Well, you were. But don't do it again!"

"Noted. But damn, you can swing!"

"Thank you!"

"I think I will feel your hand on my cheek for whole day. Ouch."

"Should I hit you on other side as well? You know, to really feel my touch…"

"No! No no no, I'm fine with just half of my face burning."

"Hehehe, you're so cute when you're scared." She grabbed his hand. "Come outside, our carriage is waiting for us."

"Carriage?"

Of course, he knew what a carriage was. He was a simple man, but he wasn't a savage. Despite all that knowledge, he couldn't help himself but to just stop and gaze at this monstrosity parked in front of the manor. Whoever designed it had obviously never heard the word "subtlety". Then again, this wasn't just any carriage. This was a royal chariot, with all of its glory and, well, trumpery slapped on every surface that it could find.

"What the…"

"Like it? I personally picked this one for our trip."

"You did?"

"Yep!"

Originally he just wanted to blurt out his ponderings over what lunatic designed this crap, but Karin's confesion halted his plans. The disgust on his face was not quite so subtle, however. Karin was a lot of things, but she was not oblivious; Marco's face was doing all of the talking.

"So you like it, huh?"

"Oh sure! It's fantastic! All those jewels, mirrors, tapestry and… whatnot. I think I even see a few pieces of wood between those pretty… things."

Karin was impaling him with her sharp sight. Over and over and over again, relentlessly like a hawk that just spotted his prey. Now her face was doing the talking and he heard every single word loud and clear.

He tried to withstand the pressure, but soon he crumbled like a house of cards. "Bah, Okay! Fine! It's ugly! Even just looking at it makes me feel sick! There, I said it, you happy now?" He was kind expecting her to light up his second cheek. To his surprise (and relief) she just caressed it.

"Oh Marco, why didn't just say so?"

"I wanted to, but when you said to hand picked it, I didn't want to sound ungrateful."

"That's very thoughtful of you, but Marco, we are married. And we are having a baby. We have to be honest to each other."

"Alright then. I don't like it. In fact, I hate it. I hate it so much I want to burn it down and-"

"Okay Marco, I get the picture. Well, there is another one, which is a lot more ordinary than this one. We can take it."

"Do we have to?"

"What?"

"I mean, I take it you want to bring me to a place, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then why don't we walk there?"

"Walk? You want to go to, uhm, that place on foot?"

"Sure! We never had the chance to spend a whole day alone, just you and me. Besides, it's beautiful outside. You will blend in just fine."

He thought it was a good compliment, but Karin didn't seem to be moved by it. Marco automatically started to search for reason why. Thankfully, the answer he was looking for was in front of him the whole time.

"Oh! Your- I didn't take into consideration your pregnancy! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to drag you there. Okay, that sounded bad. What I meant to say is that I-"

Karin interrupted him by closing his lips with her own. She locked his head tightly with her arms and didn't allow him to move away from her. It was a spectacular sight, considering the amount of clothes she had to put on her body in order to protect herself and her unborn child from the coldness. She was so enthusiastic that Marco had to break the kiss just to breath.

"Whoa! What was that?"

"You and your damn sense of romance!"

"I wasn't even trying to be romantic. I meant every single word I said. I just want to have a stroll through autumnal forest. With all those colors and golden... sunlight… Now that I'm thinking about it it kinda is romantic."

"Kinda?"

"Okay, fine, _very_ romantic. But I wasn't trying to be like that, I swear. I simply want to walk with you and get some of this fresh air. That isn't too unusual a request, right?"

"Of course not, dummy. Actually, I'm fond of the idea. Just you and me and Corona, walking among trees - I like it!"

"So it's a yes then?"

"Yep."

"Super! Just, no sudden kisses like that, ok? I need to breathe, you know?"

"Oh relax, I'll let you breath. This is just a surprise trip, nothing more." She came close to him and whispered "But I will have that _dinner_ when we come home."

"Are you feeling alright? I know that you were alway the eager one, but this seems a bit too much even for you."

"Blame my pregnancy."

"Uhm, sure."

"Come, a fun day is ahead of us!"

Together they went down the stairs. Before leaving the premises, Karin stopped by the carriage.

"Coachman, I will be leaving with my husband by foot. Inform my parents about the change of plans."

"Of course, milady."

"Okay then. Marco, shall we?"

Marco sets his hand. "With pleasure, my queen."

It was a beautiful day, perfect in every way. The sun was shining on the road, trees were glowing with autumn colors, wind gently ran between them, and the melodious singing of birds were coming from all directions. It was too perfect. Of course, Marco didn't notice it; at last, he finally felt like husband instead of glorified lodger.

"Are you going to tell me where are we going?" asked Marco.

"Nope. I told you, it's a surprise."

"I know, but-"

"Hush! Just enjoy this moment. We'll be there in an hour."

The truth was he didn't mind it that much. Sure, the sun wasn't exactly heating up and the wind was quite cold, but he had her by his side. Whatever their destination was, they were walking towards it like wife and husband.

While he enjoyed her company immensely, he was growing impatient. Karin noticed this, as he started to look around looking for something that would reveal to him where they were going. The only thing he could see was a vast field of trees variously stacked together. Unless she wanted to show him some really weird looking tree in the middle of nowhere, he knew they weren't close enough to see it.

An hour had quickly passed and Marco was still unable to see their destination. Not even a really weird looking tree. His impatience was slowly turning into disappointment.

"Are we close yet? You said it would take us an hour to get there but I don't see anything."

"I know. I picked this road on purpose. There is another, shorter one."

"Then why we didn't take that one?"

"Because then you would see where we are going from afar, and I wanted you to be surprised while standing right in front of it. Are you saying you didn't like our walk?"

"No. Of course not. It's just that… I'm not exactly patient."

"Yeah, I've noticed. Anywho, we are really close now. It is right behind this hill. We'll just go around it through these short woods and we are there."

"Finally! Erm, I mean-"

"Nah, it's fine. I had my sweet time, now it is your turn."

She wasn't lying about it being near. First, he sensed the smell. It was wet and pungent. Not uncomfortable, but quite distinct. He had never felt it before and this fact was strengthening his anticipation. Shortly after that, however, he began to hear sounds and voices. He felt as though he was in a trance, focusing all of his senses trying to figure out what place was they were finally reaching. Thanks to thick woods, sunlight wasn't too successful in penetrating tree crowns, so in the shade still covered them heavily. After continuing to strain his eyes, he did start to notice flickering lights up ahead. They continued approaching, and the lights were getting brighter and more focused. It was only a minute before they arrived when the idea struck his mind: could this place be the one he wanted to visit for so long? He was practically too scared to allow himself the thrill or fear that he might be wrong. He contained himself as best as he could.

Thankfully, he was absolutely not wrong.

"Marco, welcome to Polarity Pier."

He wasn't sure what to expect, a present of some kind perhaps. But a whole place was not on his initial list of guesses. And this was not just any place. Ever since he heard stories from traveling merchants about the the piers they visited, his imagination ran wild picturing how such places could look. But even in his wildest dreams he couldn't possibly have imagined this. It was a wild combination of lights, sounds, smells and people from various kingdoms. He was in heaven.

"You like it?"

Marco didn't respond. It was questionable if he even heard anything she said.

"Marco?"

His mind was fully occupied by its surroundings.

Karin grabbed his shoulder and shook it. "Hey!"

"Hmm?"

"Are you still with me?"

"Oh yes, I am… still here. I mean… this is breathtaking. How did you know?"

"I am your wife, it is my job to know this things."

"No, seriously, how?"

"Fine. Since today is your birthday, I asked your mother about a present for you. I imagined a lot of things you might have wanted, but this was not one of them."

"Why is that?"

"I mean, you were living so close to it, relatively speaking. And I always imagined that you, ehm, common folk traveled a lot. I am sorry, I just couldn't find a better term."

"Nah, it's okay. Most of the villagers are simple people, for better or worse. And you are right, most of them do travel a lot. I was kind of an exception. I never knew my father, so when mom went out working, I had to stay home and guard our home."

"Guard it? Really?"

"Well, not really. Our neighbour was actually guarding it. I was just taking care of the house itself. You know, cleaning, cooking, and stuff."

"Oh my, so young and already cooking? I really did marry the best man in the world, didn't I."

"I'm not sure about that. But I'll try to be one."

"I'm sure you will. Now, listen up. Can I trust you not to do anything stupid?"

"Uhm, sure?"

"That didn't sound very convincing."

"Yes, I will behave."

"OK, I trust you. I have to buy something and I can't let you see what."

"Why?"

"It's a surprise."

"Another one? How many of them have you planned for me?"

"Let yourself be surprised."

"Oh boy."

"I'm just joking! Well, I'm going shopping. In the meantime, look around, alright? We won't be staying long, so be sure to check out what this place has to offer."

"Not long? But we just got here!"

"We'll come back later, I promise. So, enjoy the tour, just don't be talkative; people here are weird."

"I can handle weird people. You should see the ones in my village."

"Not like these, trust me. Can I count on you to stay out of the trouble?"

"Yes."

"Perfect. I'm going now. Give me 30 minutes, top."

With a kiss on his cheek, she left him completely alone in a foreign place, filled with unknown people. Karin was truly worried leaving him alone here like that, but he was sure that if she knew what he went through back home, she probably wouldn't have been.

Marco's biggest problem was figuring out where to go first. 30 minutes was nowhere near enough time to fully take in the atmosphere of this place, and he wanted to go everywhere at once. He decided to just roam randomly from place to place. He only hoped that somehow he'd stumble across only the most interesting things.

Polarity Pier was a both pier and city, which was a fascinating combination. The buildings were of various shapes, sizes and colors. They weren't very tall, but there were a lot of them, densely packed next to each other. Closer to the sea it resembled more of the former, of course, but merchants and buyers were basically all over the place. Which begged the question of how ordinary citizens managed to comfortably live here considering the various types of people roaming the streets and the, well, plethora of interesting smells.

As he was walking through narrow streets of this culturally rich place, Marco noticed the things merchants were selling. Some of them had different kinds of fishing tools, or spare parts for ships, but most of them were selling seafood and that's what caught his interest. Weirdly enough, fish formed only a fraction of the menu. The majority of fresh food offerings were so fresh that plenty of them were still moving. He didn't recognize many of them. He felt like a little boy again, when his mother was was telling him stories of mysterious creatures roaming the sea and land. He could stare at them for the rest of the time he had left, if it hadn't been for the soothing music that caught his attention.

At first he thought it was one of the musicians wandering the streets. But none of them seemed to be producing those hypnotic tones. He was drawn to them like an insect to light. The street was crowded and packed, so trying to find the source of it was quite difficult. But he was determined to find it no matter what. He tried to close his eyes and focus, but with so many people walking around him, some of them decided to go right through.

"Stop standing in the middle of the street, you stupid kid!"

Marco was sent to the dirty ground. It was wet. And smelly. He immediately wanted to get back up, but while he was still down, he noticed a strange shimmering light coming from under one of the tables. It was faint, however, it was also unmistakeable thanks to its ruby red color. Furthermore, nothing else in this place had or was in this specific color. What were the chances of hearing strange music and seeing even more strangely colored light at the same time in a place like this?

He stood back up and squeezed through the thick row of people to the merchant's table. Strangely, it was empty; no one was selling anything. But there was something else behind it. A really narrow alley leading somewhere. No one else seemed to either take notice of or care about its glimmering light, only him. Marco didn't think twice and jumped over the table to investigate where was this road led.

It was so cramped he barely fit between the two buildings. Whatever was left intact of his fancy attire was now being shredded by the sharp plaster on the walls. He didn't think further about that. The music was getting louder and light brighter, so he kept going forward.

After few more meters he managed to reach the end. He was now standing in a square shaped court. When he looked back the way he got there, he noticed that the street wasn't visible anymore - the alley was clouded by a red haze. It just didn't matter though, because he was here and the music was now crystal clear. He turned right and saw the entrance to a small house. Its warm red light emanated from within and drew him closer and closer. The fact that the place defied logic was of no consequence to him. The only thing that mattered was his curiosity leading him to get inside. And so he did.

To his surprise the interior didn't correspond with what he saw from outside. Because from there it really looked like a house, but from inside it resembled a salon. A neatly and comfortably done salon. To his disappointment, the music was now silent and coming somewhere from behind the curtains in the back. But the music wasn't the only thing that came from there.

"Please, sit down, I'll be right with you."

He wasn't sure why, but he did it right away without questioning like an obedient dog. He sat behind a medium sized round table with a red tablecloth and a red lamp in the middle. Come to think of it, he now realized that pretty much everything around him was colored red at least to some degree. One would think that this overwhelming display of red color should be unnerving, but he hadn't recalled feel this calm in his entire life.

He didn't have to wait for long, though. The person to which this voice belonged came from behind the curtains shortly after he took a seat. He had no idea who the speaker was, mostly because their entire body was covered in a cloak reaching to the ground. Only a small part of his or her face was visible.

"And how can I help you today?" the voice was clearly female.

"Excuse me?"

The mysterious girl sat behind the table at the opposite side.

"How can I help you? That is why you came, is it not?"

"I… I'm not sure."

"So you just wandered here?"

"Maybe? I don't really know, I just heard music."

"Oh, you mean this music? This is just some old cheap record I bought years ago."

"Years? But you sound so young."

"Does it really matter?"

"Well… No."

"You came to me for help. My age isn't relevant in this matter."

"I told you, I-"

"You said many things, but you still haven't asked me any questions."

"Who are you?"

The girl laughed. "No, this isn't how this works. I am here to help you. What would my answer to your inquiry accomplish?"

"Well, for starters I would feel more comfortable knowing with whom it is I am speaking."

"Is it really that important to you?"

"Yes."

"Very well then."

She took down her hoodie and Marco saw… a completely unknown girl.

"You seem disappointed," noted the girl. "Did you expect someone else?"

"I'm not sure. What is your name?"

"Marco, you keep trying to figure out who I am. Even if I told you that, it wouldn't help you in any way."

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

"You don't expect a girl to reveal all her secrets, now do you?"

"But-"

"Just ask your question already. I also have other customers, you know."

"I don't understand."

"Really? You had this question in your mind ever since you met your wife this morning."

"How did you…?"

"Ah-ah-ah! Ask the question."

"I'm not sure I should. I mean, I am supposed to trust my wife."

"Ask it!" She was now demanding.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Sigh. Look, yes, you are right that you should trust your wife, but do you know what else is also true? Doubts like these will slowly eat you from within and I guarantee you that it will destroy your marriage. Now, ask the question."

"Okay, fine! Sheesh. What-"

"Yes?"

"Ever since I knew Karin she had problems expressing her emotions, and while she has improved a lot over the years, especially since she got pregnant, today she was so… direct. As is if she never had any issues to begin with. So, my question is: is something wrong with my wife?"

The girl slowly smiled. But that wasn't the smile of a friendly face. "I'm glad you asked."

Suddenly, everything around them went away. There were no lights around them, no music, no objects to recognize. Only perpetual darkness. But that wasn't the only thing that changed.

"YOU!" Marco shouted as the girls face now was of the girl from his nightmares. The single lamp that remained on the table was illuminating her blond hair. "What did you do?!"

"I tried to warn you, even show you what could you have, but since that didn't work, I will show you the truth behind your precious wife instead. She might have a strong grip on you in this realm, but she can't hide from her own past. The shadows are long and run deep."

"I won't allow you to take this away from me!"

"After all you went through, you still keep giving me the credit of taking something from you? Marco, you're doing this to yourself and at this point even willingly. I am here only because a small part of you is calling out for help. Somewhere deep down you have been begging for help all of this time."

"Lies! I'm perfectly happy! I have everything I ever wanted!"

"Is that so? Tell me, Marco, can you describe to me exactly your childhood memories?"

"I- I was-"

"Go on, don't let me stop you."

"NO! This is all your doing! You have somehow clouded my memories."

"Her grip is really strong, but not indestructible. Here," she pointed with her finger at doors behind him, "you can enter those doors and learn the answer to your question."

"This is another of your tricks."

"It might be. You can not really be certain. Then again, what are your alternatives? Stay here and keep shouting at me for every discomfort you have ever experienced? I'm giving you the chance to go home. To your… family."

"I don't believe you."

"I'm giving you the option to choose. The decision is up to you."

Marco looked behind him at the door and then back at the blond girl. She was giving him the freedom of choice, yes, but those choices weren't black and white.

"Tick-tock, Marco. Make a decision. Now!"

* * *

Meanwhile at the market square, Karin returned with a bag filled with stuff almost to the top. It looked quite heavy, but this wasn't the place where people would offer a pregnant young girl help with groceries, nor did said girl even want such help. This place was an excellent place to shop as long as you minded your own business.

She didn't expect Marco to be here on time, so she gave him an extra 10 minutes. But even after that he was nowhere to be seen. She tried to look around in the crowd, but that was a fruitless endeavor; unless he decided to wear a giant colorful peacock-feathered hat, even his mother wouldn't be able to find him here. She could try to shout his name, but that would bring the undesired attention of people around her. And even though she did have her sunshade with her, its effectiveness thanks to her advanced pregnancy would be questionable at best.

So a girl in her condition, dressed in fancy clothes, with groceries in one hand and sunshade in another, decided to search for her missing husband in crowded streets of people you wouldn't want to invite even to tea party. What could go wrong? Not what she expected, as it turned out.

"You really do take this very seriously."

A familiar voice came from somewhere within the crowd. She didn't have any trouble finding the person who spoke, though, no one else was wearing a blood red dress.

"I should have known it was you."

"Me?"

"Where is Marco?"

"Oh, you mean that. Well, you know, he went on a visionary quest, or something like that."

"Bring him back! He is mine!"

"Is he now?"

"This debate is pointless. You are in my realm. You can't possibly hope to achieve anything."

"That's where you're wrong. This was your creation, yes, and I couldn't do much, but you see, you made one tiny, but grave mistake." Star raised her hand and with a single snap of her fingers she made all of the people disappear. "You perverted his mind to achieve your own petty goals, but that's not why you brought him here. I mean, the only place your dear husband ever wanted to visit? Come on, you don't do that for your prisoners. Such gestures are meant for people you actually care for. And you do care for him, isn't that right… Eclipsa?"

Karin raised her wand and prepared herself.

"This changes absolutely nothing!" she yelled. "I want you out of here and this time I'll make sure that you'll stay out!"

The girl brought up her own wand. "Show me what you've got."

* * *

Laar was just leaving the kitchen, or rather a place that at some point in time _was_ a kitchen and he went to Eclipsa's bedroom. As usual at this time of day, he was bringing two cups of hot tea to her and to that… meat bag. He was angry, to say the least. To Eclipsa he was just a helper and that was just on her best days. Still, deep down he had hoped that their shared history meant something, anything to her. But the moment this boy came into the picture, he was degraded to a mere servant with no purpose in his life. He decided to endure it, though. He kept saying to himself that Marco was just there as a means to an end and that's all. There were no other intentions, no hidden agenda, nothing else. He was just a tool. With everything that went down recently, however, he started to ask himself who in this scenario was the real tool?

Such doubts had been constantly occupying his mind for some time now and he was trying his hardest not to allow himself to be consumed by them. So far he was quite successful with his efforts in this regard. But this ratio of success was about to turn upside down.

He stood in front of the doors leading to her private chamber and, as usual, wanted to announce himself by knocking on the doors. This time, however, he felt that something was… off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, since his understanding of magic was basic at best. The air had this highly distinct, moist and strangely scented air, almost exactly the same as what he felt back down in the old library. The question was why would he sense it here? It's not like Eclipsa kept a massive stash of old books in there. Sure, she liked to read, but her own private study was elsewhere and even then it was filled with relatively new books. So why did he suddenly feel like the walls had eyes?

The smell wasn't the only thing that was strange. The air reeked of dusty old paper, yet there was one more sensation that he definitely did not think he should have been experiencing - the air was charged. Laar felt slight tingling sensation on his skin. It was the same sensation he experienced every single time Eclipsa used her magic. The prospect of the idea of her going abrakadabra in her own bedroom with the boy was unsettling. Still, nothing of this changed that he still had tea to deliver.

So he opened the doors and witnessed something truly horrifying, yet strangely fascinating. Eclipsa was standing above the boy, looking down at him. His fascination stemmed from the objects levitating around them. They were regular items that had surely been resting on shelves or tables before, but were now floating in circles. There was also this faint combination of colors that were intertwining in the middle between them: red from his body and purple from hers.

He wasn't sure what to do, or that he should do anything at all. Strange and unknown situations weren't his scenario for repartee. The first thing he decided to do was to put the tray with cups on the nearby table. As soon as it left his grip the objects started to levitate.

"Oooookay…"

He observed both of them from a little closer now. Marco seemed calm, laying there in her bed with just a blanket over his naked body. Eclipsa, on the hand, was a different story. She was looking directly into Marco's eyes without a single blink. The amount of focus she was pulling off was immense. But there was also a look that displayed mix of anger and trouble on her face. And while he couldn't be sure, it seemed to him that her facial expression was slowly getting more strained.

He stepped back a little and scratched his head. "Now what?"

In what seemed to be only a nanosecond, Eclipsa grabbed Laar's arm and looked piercingly deep into his eyes.

* * *

The moment he stepped outside the doors, he began to question his decision. Wherever he now found himself, it was dark, cold and wet. Actually, it wasn't that far off from the air in the pier. This one however felt somewhat different. Heavy.

"Damn, I can't see anything in here. And what is this stuff my feet are digging into? It had better not be what I think it is…"

Marco tried to search for a way out of this with his hands, which led to some unpleasant bruises. Luckily, after the adjustment period, his eyes were able to pick up the faint light coming from somewhere in front of him. But unable to see anything between it and his current position, he could only hope to reach it without falling into that nasty stuff he was standing in.

"OK, so, small and careful steps. One at a time. Slooooowly…"

As if something under him could blow up in his face, he tried to cross over to the light as safely as possible. The cold air was making it difficult, as his body started to shake from the lack of warmth.

"This better not be some snowy hole!"

After a minute he reached the spot through which light was shining through. Judging from the small area that was revealed in the sun's light, he concluded the thing he was standing in front of was another door.

"What's up with her obsession with doors…"

He tried to open them, but they wouldn't budge.

"Oh no you don't!"

Tux or no tux, he leaned on the door and shoved. They resisted at first, but eventually gave way and fell apart under his force. Marco fell outside to the ground which he was trying to avoid. Thankfully, it was mud free. After he brought himself back up, he observed that it was also void of any living beings. Unless he accounted for trees. Green, tall and pleasant-smelling trees grew tightly near each other. And yet, the air was so chilled that he could see his own breath.

"Where the heck am I?"

Also, his tux was replaced with ordinary cloths.

"What the…?!"

He turned back and noticed that the building he just left was now for the most part buried under mud. Whatever it had once been, nature claimed it long time ago.

"Now what? She told me I'll learn what might be wrong with Karin, but all I can see is thick forest. I expected a vision, or something. HEY!" he yelled at trees. "This is _not_ what we agreed on!"

"Hey!"

He hoped that she would answer him back, but the voice that responded to him didn't belong to her. It did, however, belong to someone he knew. He tried to pinpoint its source, but barring the endless line of trees, he couldn't see anything or anyone else.

"I'm behind you."

Marco turned back to the house once more and on top of it he saw her standing there.

"Karin?"

* * *

Polarity Pier was made of two parts: the bigger outer ring, where common folks could shop in relative safety, and smaller inner ring, to which people went only when they needed to obtain something more special and were willing to die for it. That part was never filled with people roaming the streets; it was occupied by persons with shady intentions. But right now, there were a lot folks who went there to hide from the rampaging maniacs destroying their livelihoods.

"Is that all you got?!" Karin shouted to the smoking rubble across from what used to be the town square.

Almost everything around was in ruins or heavily damaged, covered by either dust or burning flames. Those who weren't fast enough to escape them found their last rest there. The majority of Polarity Pier was now a cemetery.

Despite logical expectations, someone did in fact survive under that rubble on the other side. The girl in red arose from underneath it all like it was made of paper. She cleaned the thick dust of her green dress and descended back to pavement.

"Witch, the only reason you're still talking to me is because I'm holding back."

"HA! You must really desperate if you need to gloat right now when I have the upper hand!"

"You still don't get it, do you? I control the scenario. You hit me with everything you have and look at me: not a scratch. Do you really think you're in charge here?"

Karin pointed her wand at her and blasted her away with massive energy beam. One of the few buildings that still managed to withstand everything else up to this point was now reduced to ash. "Sorry, what was that? I can't hear you from over there!" Silence followed the destruction. There were people yelling somewhere behind houses that were still standing, but girl's snappy repertoar was absent. "That's what I thought."

But despite her expectations, she did hear movement coming from directly where she blasted girl off. And indeed, when the dust began to clear, Karin saw her still standing there.

"Argh! What does it take to keep you down?!"

"Why are doing this?" the girl calmly asked.

That calmness caught Karin by surprise. "What? I want you gone!"

"Why?"

"Marco is mine!"

"Why?" With every question she was getting closer to her.

"Didn't you hear me?! He is mine!"

"Why?" Her persistent questioning was confusing Karin.

"Stop with these stupid questions!"

"Why?" Her voice was almost unnatural.

"Stop it!"

"Why?"

"Stop!"

"Why?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE HIM!"

Even Karin was surprised how loud she yelled that. After that, every noise, every sound, every movement stopped. All except for the girl, who now was staring at her without a single blink and with emptiness in her face.

"What?" Karin asked herself.

In the blink of an eye, the girl moved to her and firmly grabbed her hand.

"How does it feel to be a pawn in your own creation?"

Karin tried to release herself from her grip, but the girl stood there like a rock. "What the…?!"

"Your own feelings for the boy will be your doom, Eclipsa. You created this realm in order to manipulate him, but that requirement no longer applies."

Star tightened her grip. "Ouch! Let me go!"

"You made a mistake. But don't worry - I'm here to rectify that mistake. Your dear husband deserves to know the truth about who you really are. About the dark secrets you conveniently left out from the narrative."

"No…" For the first time ever, a pure horror was in Karin's eyes.

"Come. A date with destiny awaits you."

"No!"

* * *

Laar was expecting that Eclipsa would do, or at least say something. And it looked like she was going to, but alas she was now looking at him with a bottomless stare. By the looks of things, it didn't look like this would change anytime soon; the smell subsided, as well as all the weird lighting in the room. It was calm and silent once again. As if the bigger problems were yet to start.

And indeed, shortly after this thought cross his mind, something else, but far stranger started to happen.

"What the…?"

The once faint red glowing that was previously coming from his body now abruptly erupted and wrapped around Eclipsa's motionless body like a snake. There were here and there some weak purple spots, but they vanished as quickly as they appeared. It almost looked like Eclipsa was trying to fight back, fruitlessly.

Laar has no idea what he was witnessing and the truth was that he was actually scared. It was true that he had utmost respect for Eclipsa simply because she had the power to turn him into dust, but he knew where his place was. This was different: a completely unknown situation without a clear solution. The big unknown. He tried to tear Eclipsa from the red grip, but after short contact with the red light he burned his hand.

It was now clear to him: something far more powerful has overtaken Eclipsa. And when that something was done with her, it would most likely not stop there. It would surely go after her henchman. Which is to say it would be after him. A poor soul with a misguided sense of loyalty.

"THAT'S IT! I've had it! I ain't gonna stay here and wait for my own death! This was a bad idea from the start and she should have listened to me. This is her problem now. I'll try my luck on my own." He looked at Eclipsa one last time. "Thanks for nothing." And with these final words he left her at the mercy of this weird red thing.

* * *

"Karin?"

The figure he was gazing at was standing on top of what used to be a house. The female figure was staring back at him with a mixture of amazement and confusion.

"Excuse me?"

Now Marco was confused as well.

"What?"

"Are you okay, boy?"

"Boy?"

At this point it was hard to tell who was more confused. Both were trying to figure out each other, though she had an upper hand in it.

"Oh, I see," she stated in a calm, almost soothing voice as she descended down to him. "You must be lost, aren't you?"

"Lo-lost? Well…" Marco realized that he had no clue where he was and his reason for being here wasn't all that clearer either. "I actually might be lost. But Karin, why-"

"Why are you calling me that?"

"What?"

"Karin."

"Uhm, because it's your name?"

She kept looking at him trying to determine if was being serious, or just making fun of her.

"Riiiight. Listen, you're obviously confused and lost, because trust me, no sane person would want to come here."

"What are you talking about? I know who you are. And you know who I am!"

"Look, I was willing to be nice to you at first because you look really cute, but…" She froze. She obviously had not planned to say that out loud. "Whatever, I am your queen and I'm telling you to get out of here."

"But I told you several times that you're my queen and technically speaking you are, but I don't understand how is this-"

"OK, now you're just being creepy. You have 5 seconds to return back to your home or I'll send you there!"

"Will you stop that already?!"

"4."

"This is not funny anymore!"

"3."

"You can't be serious!"

"2." At this point she pointed her sun shade at his chest.

"STOP IT!" He grabbed her hand.

"Oh, you didn't just do that!"

With one short zap she send him flying several meters away. Hi hit the ground with loud thud sound.

"One last warning: go back home or I'll make you to go there!"

Marco was wallowing in pain in the dirt. His moaning was the only answer she wanted to hear from him.

"Go home!" she yelled back at him. "This is no place for kids!"

"Ugh! I never thought marriage could be this painful." He carefully stood up and looked around. Karin was nowhere to be seen. "What was that about? Did I forget about our anniversary or something? Wait… No, this has to be it! That girl told me I would find out what happened to my wife. I'm going after her. I need to know."

He wanted to follow her, however he was clueless as to where she went. He didn't know this place, so going anywhere could very easily end up him being hopelessly lost. That said, he didn't have a choice. If he really wanted to learn the truth about her, he had to at least try.

To his surprise, and relief, he found a poorly maintained footpath leading deeper into the forest. By the looks of it, it wasn't being used very often, if at all. There was no guarantee she used it as well, but without a single idea clue otherwise, it was the only lead he had. With only a little faith in a positive outcome for this whole situation, he decided to follow the path to whatever place it led.

But after a while it was clear to him that he could follow it for hours and still would not see her; he was utterly lost. There weren't land markings he could use to determine where he was or where he was going. Everything looked the same, everything sounded the same. Whatever amount of distance he had traveled, it felt as if he hadn't moved at all.

"This is unbelievable! I came here for Karin and not only has she acted as if she didn't recognize me, she even ditched me and now not only can I not find her, I don't even know where _I_ am!" Marco took a deep breath and yelled "THIS IS NOT WHAT I AGREED TO!" He listened to the silence of the forest. Nothing had changed. "Bah, who am I kidding. It's not like the trees can talk."

Indeed, the trees didn't say a word. Lacking anything at all to fix his senses on, the feeling of failure was slowly crushing down on him. There was nothing else he could do to fix this situation. Karin might have been kilometers away, or just behind that tree a few meters away. He wasn't sure about anything anymore.

"Why must things like this keep happening to me?" he asked himself aloud. "Didn't I suffer enough? Do I really ask so much of life?"

Maybe it was his helplessness, or maybe the forest just couldn't stand his whining. Whatever the case, soon after that, an unusual buzzing sound appeared behind him. It was faint at first, but was approaching at quite a rapid pace.

"Huh? What's that sound?"

Marco turned his head and what he saw made him unsure how he should react. By the amount of sound that was emanating he expected something… well, bigger. What he witnessed instead was a small red dot flying kind of erratically, but surely towards him. Unless of course there was something invisible standing right behind them, which, at this point, wouldn't surprise him much.

For a brief moment he thought about running away, but then he realized - why bother? Finally there was something happening and he didn't feel like an abandoned toy in the middle of nowhere. Whatever this thing was and whatever intentions it had, it was better than just aimlessly roaming this forest.

When it got close enough, he realized that he recognized the thing.

"Wait, is that… a firefly? Since when fireflies make noise?"

The small creature kept circling around him like he was a shining light bulb. As it was dancing in the air, the buzzing slowly changed from buzzing to gentle whistling. It was so soothing he actually started to feel better.

"What are you?"

He tried to touch it, but it was too fast. Up and down, left and right. Clearly, this thing never heard of a proper flight plan.

"Well, not that I don't appreciate your company, but unless you can show me where Karin is, you won't do me much good."

Maybe it understood him. Maybe that little thing decided he was just too damn ugly. In any case, the firefly sped up its circling and at great speed whooshed away throughout the forest. It left small red sparks in its wake, illuminating what appeared to be a path.

Marco was standing there in awe a good minute. "Wait, did it… Is that… Damn! I should complain more."

With nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, he decided to follow the trail of breadcrumbs. He wasn't sure if he would really find Karin this way, but he also didn't want to just keep helplessly roaming this place with a minimal chance of success.

Luckily, the path wasn't complicated, though the surroundings, while mellow, were unbearably sterile and boring. It was like watching a short part of a movie on loop endlessly. Nothing of interest ever showed up, just the same scenery repeating itself over and over. While it felt easy when he got here, that feeling was quickly fading away.

Thankfully, it didn't take that much longer until he spotted her roaming among the trees. Seeing her again made him feel happy and relieved. Perhaps that was why he thought she was moving almost like a deer - silently and with dignity.

"Wow…"

He was preparing to call her name, but stopped himself just as he opened his mouth.

' _Hmm. Our previous encounter didn't go as I expected. And unless some miracle happened in the meantime that would make her to remember me, I doubt it would go any better this time. I need to- Whoa!_ '

Marco focused his sight to the spot he saw her in just a second ago.

"Where did she go? She was just there!"

He looked behind. He kind of expected that firefly to show up. But it was gone, as well as the red sparks that showed him the way.

"Well, I guess this is it then."

Determined, if also a bit scared, he followed Karin to the place where she disappeared. When he reached it, he was surprised, because from afar it looked like there was just another wall of trees, but when he got closer, he noticed that what looked like a wall were in reality trees stacked up close to each other. Which was strange on its own, because it broke the land's usual configuration. He also noticed that this so-called wall was running in what looked like a perfect circle.

"Weird. Huh, what's this?"

As he was inspecting it, he noticed that a single tree was missing, creating an entrance of some kind. In it was a crooked path flanking by trees on both sides. Whatever this wall was and wherever this path led was of no consequence to him; Karin had to take this road and that's where he was supposed to go.

Marco wasn't claustrophobic, but he had this unsettling feeling that those huge towering trees could squeeze to him to death in a second. There wouldn't be much left of him after that and he was sure that they'd soak up his blood like a tasty drink. They were giving him the creeps.

He was in luck though, as daylight marked the path's end. The sunlight gently touched his face and he felt all of his worries leaving him behind in that creepy place. He was now standing at the edge of a sunny meadow. It was quite small and without a single flower between the scarce grass. It was not an overly cheerful sight, but Marco counted this to be a vast improvement from what he had just left behind.

That sight got even better when he saw Karin going toward what looked like ruins of some kind. Marco couldn't tell for sure from the distance, furthermore those few pieces of stone and wood were spread too thin and too erratically to make any sense of it. It had to be an important place though, because Karin was constantly looking around. It was as if she was expecting someone from within those small stones to jump out. Or something.

"What is she hoping to find?"

.

.

.

"What am I hoping to find here?" pondered a young Eclipsa. "This place is literally dead. There is no one here!" She stopped and look up at the sky. "Sheesh, girl. Listen to yourself. Just relax, you've got this. As you said, it's a dead place. Just do what you came here to do and you'll be home in no time. Your husband is waiting for you." She stopped talking for a while at the thought of what _exactly_ was waiting for her back at home. "Yeah," she blushed.

Losing herself in her own thoughts was her specialty. At times she was even able to tune out during the Silver Bell Ball, which was a quite an achievement in her opinion. But this was the worst place possible to be doing it. So when she finally snapped out of it, she realized that not only she was now standing in the middle of the village's foundation, but also that she wasn't alone anymore.

She was sure that had to be nonsense. Her mother cut off this damned place from the outside world decades ago. Nothing could possibly survive that long without any resources. Not even _them_.

"No sir," she confirmed her own thought to herself. "I'm just imagining things, as usual." Eclipsa made a slow pirouette to check her surroundings. "Yep. Completely deserted. Hehe."

That nervous chuckle wasn't enough even for her own mind. Even though she was positive that there was no one in her vicinity, she had this uncomfortable feeling of a presence. Something was there with her and it was checking her with great interest.

"Oh, screw this!"

She firmly grabbed her sunshade wand and raised it above her head.

"By the power of Helia, illuminate this forsaken land!"

The sun crystal on top of her wand lit up like a thousand stars and set every square meter of the land ablaze.

Except for a small flake hidden in the shadow of an old tree.

"What the…?!"

In the blink of an eye, it spread in every direction, raised up and encased her in a pitch black dome. Her wand was still doing its magic, but it was lost in this dark realm. The only thing that was coming from the abyss was a sinister laugh.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

She intended to sound fierce, but the laughter got even louder.

"Foolish little brat. What did you hope to achieve with that glowing stick of yours?"

Now that she could hear the actual sound of the voice, she wished it would start laughing again.

"U-Uhm, we-well, I came here- I c-came here to check on the Shadowy Meadows."

"So you came to check on us?"

"U-us?"

There are some question that are better left unasked. After Eclipsa asked for clarification, dozen of whispers where coming from all around her. She didn't need to hear that.

"We appreciate that you decided to visit us. Your mother left us here alone. We found that to be rude." A short moment of heavy silence followed. "But we are patient people. We were waiting for you the whole time."

"M-me?"

Eclipsa's will was now fading away and with it Helia's Light.

"My child, do you really think we'd willingly stay in this hole just for nostalgia's sake? The moment Hekatia died, her magic died with her and there was nothing left to hold us here. Except, of course, for your arrival."

A dark purple tentacle spankingly attached itself around her wand and ripped it off of her hand. It let it be on the ground without any interest in doing anything to it beyond snatching it away. The wand itself however started to transform, with brightness and sunshine being replaced with darkness and deep purple.

"We knew we wouldn't be able to take revenge on her. But we expected her offspring to give us some entertainment. You though…"

Eclipsa was watching with pure terror in her eyes at the sight of her wand being changed.

"You are a disappointment."

With the last of the light gone, there was nothing to left protect her anymore.

"AAAAAAAAAA!"

.

.

.

Marco couldn't understand what he was witnessing. At first, she was looking around as if she was expecting some vicious animal to jump on her. And then this dark bubble came out of nowhere and enveloped her. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't have to be a master in magic to know that it was bad.

So, being the exemplary husband that he was, he went to inspect it. A voice in the back of his head was telling him that this had to be the dumbest idea he'd ever head, but he didn't pay attention to it. That was his wife in there and he'll be damned if he was going to let any harm come to her.

"AAAAAAAAAA!"

Too late.

"Karin? Karin! KARIN!"

He started to run and yell at her, but to no avail. Even before he could reach the dome, it exploded outward into its surroundings. The shock wave tossed him back to the edge of the meadow and painfully smashed his back against the trees. He tried so hard not to lose consciousness. With every ounce of focus he had in him, he managed to stay awake. Though it took him a while to recognize where he was laying.

"Karin?"

His voice was weak and barely audible. Even the grunts of pain he was making while trying to stand back up were louder than his calling for his wife.

"Karin!"

But it was slowly coming back to him. First voice and then his vision. He was able to see that Karin was laying where the dome just was and she didn't seem to be moving at all. The pain in his joints was still big enough to prevent him from walking properly, but it was not big enough to keep him from running toward his love. He was pushing his body to it's limits just to to be reunited with Karin.

"I'm coming!"

After what felt like an eternity to him, he reached her motionless body.

"Karin, dear! Can you hear me? Wake up! Karin!"

He was constantly shaking her body, but to no avail. She wasn't dead, or otherwise visibly hurt in any way, just deeply sleeping. He then noticed her wand laying right next to her and it looked… different. Certainly not friendly.

"What happened to you?" Marco caressed her forehead. "Why won't you wake up?"

Just as he finished his thought, she suddenly woke up and gasped for air.

"Karin!"

She was desperately trying to breathe, but something was obviously choking her.

"What's wrong? You can't breathe? How can I help?"

When their eyes met, he saw a pure horror deep in her purple eyes. Even he was startled.

"I don't know what to do!"

She turned around and started violently coughing. It sounded like something was inside of her and she was desperately trying to get it out. It took her a few seconds, but a black goo started to drip out of her mouth. And even after it landed on the ground, it continued to move. Marco was watching this scene with great disgust. After four more coughs it seemed like she had expelled all of it. She started to breathe normally and her spasms subsided.

"Are-are you alright?"

Karin looked at him, still scared, but also confused. As if she was trying to determine something.

"It's me - Marco. Your husband, remember?"

Apparently she wasn't convinced, because she slowly raised her hand and carefully touched his face, expecting it to explode upon contact.

"You?" she whispered.

"Yes! Oh my, yes! You remembered!"

"I do remember. You're that kid I found back in woods."

"What? No! I'm Marco - your husband!"

"My what? Don't be ridiculous, my husband is back home waiting for me. Wait…" A crippling fear sneaked back in into her eyes. "My baby!" She quickly touched her belly. "No no no no…!"

"What? Is something wrong with Corona?"

"I don't- OH THANK MEWNI!"

"What?"

"She kicked! She's fine!"

"Oh, what a relief!" sighted Marco. This was the first time he was worried for both of them.

"Hold on."

"Now what?"

"How can you know her name?"

"Uhm, hello, her father speaking."

Karin quickly stood up and backed away from Marco.

"You stand back from me!"

"What? No, why… Why are you acting like this? What is this place?"

She swiftly grabbed her wand from ground and pointed it at his chest.

"I'm the one asking questions here!"

It was then that she noticed some rather radical changes on the wand. Instead of being it a sunshade, now it was an umbrella with a dark tint and the sun crystal was replaced by a purple eye with a moon crescent on top.

"What is this?"

"You're asking me?! I don't know anything anymore!"

" _Isn't it obvious by now?"_

Karin looked behind and shockingly saw Hekatia standing there - alive and well.

"M-mom? But… how? You died two days ago! "

Marco didn't see anyone. "Who are you talking to?"

" _Look at yourself. I don't even recognize you anymore."_

"What do you mean? It's still me, mom - Eclipsa!"

This name, while unknown to Marco, made him feel uneasy for some reason. Probably because she was referring to herself in this name.

" _I left a successor to a throne, not an abomination with a bastard child."_

"Why are you saying this to me?"

" _Oh, so you think I should be proud of what you did here?"_

"Wha- I wasn't prepared for any of this! You refused to help me to understand dark magic!"

" _Because I didn't want you to end up like me. But I can see now that I have failed."_

"You aren't my mother. You can't be!"

" _You still don't believe me? Well then, maybe you'll accept your failure from the mouth of your own daughter."_

"What?"

From the shadows behind her, another figure came into the evening light.

" _Hello, mother."_

"Who… are you?"

" _You don't recognize your own flesh and blood? Are you really that self-centered?"_

"I don't understand."

" _Of course you don't. The only thing you ever understood was your own damn pleasure without thinking about others. Not even your own family."_

"This can't be! My Corona wasn't even born yet!"

"Karin?" Marco tried to talk to her, but the girl now wasn't even reacting to her name anymore.

" _Are you sure about that?"_

"What do you…" Eclipsa looked down at her belly. If there ever was any child, it was now gone without any trace of pregnancy. "NO! NOOO!" She was frantically touching his tummy, trying to find her unborn child.

" _Aww, so you are capable of deep emotions after all. Too bad you didn't show them to me or to my dad while he was still alive."_

"GIVE ME BACK MY BABY!" She tried to hit Corona, but her wand went directly through.

" _You know, there was a time I wished I wasn't even born. But then I met my husband and later had my own child and they made my miserable life worth living again. But hey, don't take my word for it. Ask her yourself."_

And just as Hekatia before her, from the dark corner came Solaria. Eclipsa fell down to her knees and started to sob.

"Give her back!"

" _You're pathetic. Unworthy of leading Mewni. It was a good thing when the Magic High Commission came for you. You can count yourself lucky; you deserved far worse!"_

"No… I lost… you. I lost everything."

Marco wasn't able to do anything other than continue watching her emotional breakdown. Something inside made him feel strangely okay with whatever it was that was happening.

"Eclipsa?" Marco asked again, this time with her real name, and finally the girl turned her tearful face up to him.

"I can't lose you too," she whispered.

All three queens raised their wands and aimed them at her head.

" _You have failed as a daughter!"_ shouted Hekatia and her wand started to glow.

The ground started to shake.

"You have to believe me, Marco, I wanted to make you happy."

" _You have failed as a mother!"_ shouted Corona and her wand started to glow as well.

"Why do I have so much trouble trusting your words?" answered Marco.

The skies turned dark and the land started to fall apart.

" _You have failed as a queen!"_ shouted Solaria and her wand powered up.

A hand landed on Marco's shoulder. It was that blonde girl.

"It's time to go home, Marco. Star is waiting for you."

He looked down at the broken, defeated Eclipsa.

"I love you, Marco."

All three queens simultaneously shot her directly into her head and everything subsided into darkness.

* * *

A massive blast threw Eclipsa and Marco apart across her bedroom. While Marco was stopped by the wall next to the doors, Eclipsa landed on her wardrobe. The blast itself turned the room into a wreck. What before looked like a place to sleep in now more adequately resembled a junkyard.

Both of them had a hard time recovering from their encounters with stationary objects. For Marco though it was a lot worse. He spent so much time in a fictional dreamscape, brainwashed, manipulated and stripped of his own identity. Karin's Marco was gone and Star's Marco had to reassert himself back into this harsh reality.

Eclipsa had it easier, since she was the puppeteer for most of the time. The first thing she did wasn't to check her own bruises, but to check on Marco. And she saw how he was trying to crawl away.

"No. Marco, you can't - ouch - leave."

It was painful for her to stand up, but she had damn good motivation to try despite all the pain flowing throughout her body. Marco too was hurt in places he didn't know he had, but unlike Eclipsa, he was young and was able to recuperate rather quickly. Still, his crawling was neither fast nor coordinated.

"Marco. Stay. There." She had to breath deep after each word.

This time her request didn't go unnoticed.

"You shut your mouth!" yelled Marco back, while trying to crawl over fallen doors. "Keep your filthy hands of me!"

"You have to - listen to me!"

"I don't want to listen to anything you have to say!"

"I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Marco was now directly on top of the doors and making his way out, while Eclipsa tried unsuccessfully to reach him.

"I didn't want to hurt you."

"You kidnapped me, brainwashed me, perverted my memories and RAPED ME!"

"Tha-that isn't true! It was you who wanted it!"

"Because I thought- Whatever! I'm going back to Star. I love _her_!"

That last sentence hit Eclipsa's nerve.

"No." She was surprisingly calm when she said it. "That's where you're wrong."

Marco was almost out of her ruined room, when the doors suddenly went up into the air.

"What the heck is this?!"

They slowly rotated so that he could clearly see Eclipsa. And her face was now pure darkness.

"I won't allow to leave me. I love you. And if you refuse to love me back, I'll make you!"

Out of nowhere, her wand entered her room and landed in her arms.

"YOU ARE MINE!"

A wave of dark purple energy emanated from the wand's crystal and covered everything from the manor itself to the Well and beyond. A blinding flash rippled for miles and practically screamed an ominous message to anyone close enough to see it. _Something terrible is about to happen._

 **Chapter 14 was written by Terepin and edit by KuriyanBBQ.**

 **Polaria, Hekatia and Helia belongs to jgss0109.**


	15. Dreamscapes, Part 5 - Wishful Thinking

A white light welcomed Moon's mind to the brilliance of the world around her. Pink and blue flowers danced around her, whisking her away into the clear, cloudless sky. The royal gardens were a wondrous, beautiful place, complimented further by a cool, winding river. A fantastical breeze welcomed new life.

"Mommy?" a small, gentle voice entered through her ears. The source of the voice frolocked across the riverside, which neatly blended with the array of colors and shades that had caught the small girl's eye, locking her in awe.

She turned towards to her child, a beloved, light grey little rascal. Her father had insisted that Moon name her and she had decided to call her "Star". Had she known what the tyke would be like before, she would've called her something more rambunctious, such as "Supernova" or "Avalanche."

But here she was: her beloved darling. With her long head of pale blue hair, a cute little tail and piercing hazel eyes just like her father's.

It was still enrapturing for her to see a monster-mewman hybrid. It was still almost unheard of, and at any other time in history she would have been put to death. "What a beautiful time to be alive," she thought to herself. It was the kind of thinking that edged on daydreaming; she imagined her wonderful lover.

And speaking of the lizard she had happily married - there he was, smiling from a distance. He stood, otherwise stoic and observant. Moon waved back, her silvery hair blowing in the breeze. To the Queen his suit seemed to pop right out at her in this warm, fantasy-like setting and yet it didn't necessarily feel as though it did not belong.

It was a lovely day, indeed, almost dream-like. The beautiful, pastel colored scenery slowly faded. Moon's magnificent family began to slowly disappear. It was a fleeting memory, one that seemed almost lost, but what she had seen gave her no cause for concern regarding such undesirable thoughts, and so she let them go, knowing she would not lose them. The perfect little painting she had stumbled upon disappeared, as a new, more common setting took its place.

* * *

The small half-lizard child turned sharply into the dining room with her mother following slowly behind. She stopped in place. After a second of panting, she looked around and realized where she was.

Her back bolted up and then stiffened like a board. She stared at the the dining table with all who were seated at it, seeming completely distracted by Star who ran around them like the half-monster she was. She jumped, ducked, and crawled, like a gymnast, or a warrior, or maybe even a knight. Star always dreamed of being a knight, she always told her father that. Moon wondered why Star never told her. Their relationship was loving, Moon thought, but she was always more open with her father. Toffee told Moon as much. Moon always felt a hint of guilt, a slight spray of remorse, but she thought it better for Star to refrain from telling her, as the caring mother would never had allowed her little angel to partake in such a dangerous career, especially when she's already destined to be queen.

Moon loosened up and made her way towards her lover. The tall lizard had stopped his young daughter from causing a larger ruckus than she already had with his tail. He picked her up and sat her on his lap. Star seemed unfazed, almost as though nothing had interrupted her. Her head fidgeted in many different directions, looking for a possible escape route. Toffee slightly nudged her face to look at his, somehow locking it in place.

"Star. I want you to promise that you won't perform such a distracting performance before dinner again." His soothing voice calmed down the whole table, including his troublemaking daughter.

Star nodded cheerfully, obviously not taking what her father said to heart. But she had calmed down, and for now, that was all Moon could wish for.

"Good. Now if it wouldn't be a bother, please sit next to Grandma, dinner is starting soon." Star nodded once more and jumped off his lap. She made her way over to Queen Comet and sat down, but not before stopping to envelope her grandma in a tiny hug.

Moon leaned over to her composed husband to whisper "Thank you for calming her down, dear," all the while hoping to re-foster some composure of her own. The servants started to present everyone's meal, each course beautifully complementing the previous one.

"It's no bother, really" Toffee replied. "We wouldn't want to look bad in front of your mother after all," he reassured her. "Or, should I say, our Queen?"

Moon leaned back, facing her mother; the wizened, but still strong-spirited Queen of Mewni. She had been the only one of her relatives to support her marriage of Toffee, for obvious reasons. Mewmans were never fond of monsters. When rumors went out about Princess Moon marrying a monster, and not only a monster, but a monster general of all things, a civil war had begun to stir. Moon's wise mother put a stop to the treachery rather quickly, and rewrote some laws, to allow for Moon's happy ending. Even with Mewman bigotry toward Monsters calming down over the years, the wound is too fresh to allow Star to leave the castle outside of short bursts. Moon always feared that extremists would take away her little angel. Toffee didn't trust the Mewmans much either.

Dinner came and went without much of a ruckus. They all enjoyed their meals and went back to their independent endeavours afterward.

* * *

Moon was reclining on a small but comfy bench when she felt a gentle and elegant tap on her shoulder. She placed her book down softly on her lap, and glanced over to see that it was her mother who had decided to pay a visit. She found it strange and, for some reason, unnerving even.

"Moon, sweetie?" Comet asked, her hands tapping against her dress. "I'd like to… talk with you."

Moon immediately moved to the right to leave some room for her mother. Queen Comet smiled sweetly, but decided to remain standing instead. Moon frowned.

"I know that it has been a while since we've been alone like this." Moon began slowly. "And before we talk, I want to know why."

"What more do you want to know?" Comet asked, her hands beginning to tremble. Moon stared at her with cold, darkening eyes. "I worry about the future sometimes. I'm sure you do as well. I'm not blind, I can see how tired and distracted you have been as of late."

Moon felt a pit growing in her stomach before finding her voice. "Well, of course I worry as well. I want my family to be happy, but I want the same for everyone else in the kingdom as well. I worry that I won't be the Queen they need, like you are."

"Don't worry about that, sweetheart. You have a heart for everyone, even the monsters. They will be lucky to have you when you are ready."

Moon flinched a little at the words 'even the monsters' as they were uttered. She knew her mother meant well, but it always stung to know that, deep down, she absolutely didn't see things the same way.

"I just wish you had talked to me first…" Comet trailed off for a moment. "I wish you'd asked me first before actually getting married to a monster."

"That's enough mom!" Moon clenched her fists. "I'm an adult. There is no reason that I couldn't make that decision on my own."

"Without at least consulting your mother?" enquired Comet, who was now twiddling her fingers. "Besides, you know as well as I that there are more reasons involved here than your maturity. You will be the Queen of Mewni some day, Moon. People need to be able to trust their Queen, and your decision, regardless of how highly you view monsters, was a rash one. You cannot force change, even for the better."

Moon just sighed, reclining back for a moment with her eyes glazed over. She knew that her mother was at least partially right about all of this, but there was no way Comet could ever understand her choice. How could she? Thousands of years of Monster-Mewmen prejudices doesn't just disappear. She had only been fortunate enough to befriend some monsters at a young enough age to see how short-sighted these biases were.

"Let's go outside," pleaded Comet, her hands stretched wide. "It may help clear your mind."

It may help clear your mind.

* * *

They swept each other up into the Royal Gardens of Mewni, Queen Comet taking in the sweet air of summer, while Moon remained shriveled and recluded. They had situated themselves on the very edge, where the wild grasses met with the magically infused flowers that dotted this part of the Garden as much as weeds may dot that of a commoner's backyard.

Moon had never really approved of infusing the greenery at the castle with wand's magic, especially since it was her wand. Why did her mother get to decide what to do with it? Couldn't she just do it on her own? Glossaryck had always told Moon that once a Princess of Mewni was advanced enough in her studies in magic, and had the approval of the Commission, she could stop using her wand, and resort to dipping down into her own internal magic. Of course, she still needed to hold onto it, at least until her daughter reached the age of fourteen. Then she would be forced to just shove all of those problems away onto the next generation. It seemed a bit foolish to Moon that they would just give all that responsibility to someone not even old enough to steer a carriage.

Moon especially knew that it wasn't easy for her. In the first few months with the wand, she had experienced a lot of…. Unfriendly behavior from the people she knew. It wasn't like she had never had any friends, but they all seemed rather distant from her all of a sudden. She had gotten awfully depressed. Moon had considered making a few new friends on her own, but that was when Toffee showed up. He had always been the tricky fellow, a younger representative from the Monsters. They were first introduced in the diplomatic sector, but obviously their relationship had gone far beyond that.

Toffee was unique from Moon's other friends. She couldn't place her finger on why... but he was always a few steps ahead of the game. Where others were stuck in the mud, he would be up on dry land. This led to quite the attitude, and at first, arrogance, but Moon had thankfully managed to mellow that aspect of his personality.

Moon had also met his people, the Septarians. The Butterfly Kingdom had traditionally always had rocky relations with most non-mewmen people, and the Septarians were no exception. It wasn't like they were bloodthirsty enemies or anything, but Moon's family knew nothing about them until they sent Toffee and a few other representatives to establish relations. At first both sides were very cautious and foreboding, but they eventually grew a mutual respect for each other. In fact, Moon was sent by her father to spend a summer in Septarian territory, where she learned quite a lot about their biology and culture.

For instance, although they were Reptilian on the outside, on the inside, they were actually quite similar to Mewmens, more similar in fact than any other Monster species discovered. They also had a unique ability of extremely advanced regeneration, which prolonged their lifespan almost indefinitely, although the science behind such was inconvenient at best. Many of them still died before reaching a formidable age, due to the same sort of metabolic shutdown, eventually causing their regenerative abilities to take inverse effects. They lived well and long, but died suddenly to rapid, aggressive illnesses.

Culture-wise, they were surprisingly primitive, even for a monster. They were organized in a loose-tribal system with a chieftain, and the Septarsians each had their own certain duties and jobs. They referred to others in their clan as "brothers" or "sisters" which wasn't as troubling from a breeding standpoint as one might believe. Because of their supposed long lifespans, they only needed to breed once in a very long time. The entire species would come together, Septarians from different clans finding their partners.

Moon was shook from the memories by the rustling of a few fallen leaves, blowing away in the tumultuous gust before her.

"Mother?" The young Princess asked, with a pang of annoyance in her voice. "I need you to answer a very important question."

Queen Comet inhaled slowly and then relaxed herself just a bit. She spoke with clarity in her voice. "What is it, Moon? Ask me anything you want."

Her directness had caught Moon off guard, causing her expectations to go haywire. 'There had to be a catch to this…. Right?'

"Fine," Moon said, uncomfortable in the Gardens. She really should do something about the expansiveness of it all… "Why, mother? Why are you always so uncomfortable around Toffee? Is it because he's a 'monster'?"

Queen Comet scoffed, her eyes rolling. "Moon, you should know by now that I've learned to… cope with the new situation in Mewni. Monsters and Mewmans should…. not be held separate. I don't think you were wrong in making friends with the Septarians, but, as I've said, it was a rash, politically absent-minded decision to just up and get married to one of them. Perhaps it would have been easier for us all if you had just allowed a slower transition."

"I'm not a young teenager, mother. When would a "slower transition" have allowed for my husband and me to get married? What if I had asked to marry him today? Would I have even been allowed to remain unwed for this long?"

Comet pushed on, now holding a straight face as best as she could. "Well… it may have been best for you to find another and continued to help develop monster relations slowly over time."

Moon paused for a few moments. She tensed up and glued her eyes upon her mother, trying desperately to read her. Something then clicked inside her, revealing a light that had since been hidden from her. She had to close her eyes for a few moments, she smiled, facing Comet.

"I see. It's not equality that's holding you down. It's Toffee. You don't approve of him, do you?"

Queen Comet became flustered, her eyes wild with surprise. "W-What? I- I…"

Moon rolled her eyes. "Please. Save me the blubber. I know you don't trust him. That's pretty obvious."

Comet bit her lips, glancing away from Moon for a few seconds to gaze at the clouds. "Moon… Whether you are correct or not, this conversation was one that we aren't ready to have. I understand that we- that I still need time to cope with this situation as well."

"How much more time are you going to need to cope before you can just learn to trust someone for who they are instead of what they are?" Moon looked down, distraught and just barely succeeding in holding back tears of frustration.

She stood up, taking a few steps away from Moon before stopping. Moon could barely hear her breathing, but she could tell that it was deep.

"Moon, listen to me here. Toffee... something about him doesn't feel... right. I've tried contacting Glossaryck about it, but he's been oddly silent. I know you think this is just me being an old, xenophobic goat that refuses to change, but I still care about your safety. I wouldn't lie to you. So, please, be careful, okay?"

Moon could only shrug at those words as she pouted, a scowl on her face. "Fine. Whatever."

She left without another word, leaving Moon in the Gardens, staring off into the sky. Neither of them noticed the silent figure listening from behind a still shadow.

* * *

Sighing like the weight of the universe had just crumbled on top of her, Moon eventually rose to her feet and shuffled back into the castle, barely opting to stare back at the idyllic Gardens she'd left behind. Trembling slightly, Moon shrugged off a few shivers that had crawled up onto her, seemingly from out of nowhere. Perhaps it was the entrance that was the problem; she'd always had a stark distaste for the large, but dark and muck filled entrances, gates, and doors in and out of the castle.

"Once I'm Queen, I'll change it, I'll make it better," Moon declared, her expression growing a tinge more confident and strong as she took a stride in her walk. Her eyes were a bit irritated by the sun, so she went to brush the dust off of them with her dainty, polished fingers. When she stopped blinking, she noticed, for a split second, what seemed to be the burst of a swift shadow on the wall. The next thing she knew, her beloved was right in front of her.

Moon shrieked in surprise, knocking herself against some oddly dry feeling vines. She supposed it was better then knocking herself on bumpy and cracked stone. Toffee was staring at her with the usual eery look in his eyes, but also with a warmth that made Moon smile, just a bit.

"Hello Moon," Toffee said, putting his hands through Moon's silky soft hair. "How has your day been?"

Moon grinned whimsically, although she detested it when her hair was disturbed. "It has been fine."

Humming an unfamiliar tune, Toffee walked into the castle, carefully avoiding the muck and grime on the walls. Moon followed soon after, eagerly getting as far away from her mother as she could. Her mind paused itself for a few moments, drawing into an odd, pulling sensation. Should she have told Toffee about her Mother? Shouldn't he know how she really felt about him?

Perhaps she was overthinking things. Maybe Toffee already knew, that was the kind of thing that parents did, right? Telling their children's spouses something weird and annoying, while acting all nice and friendly in front of their kids. Moon had a cousin who was in a situation like that, she had married someone from the Johansen Kingdom, a place that most Butterflies thought of as unruly and violent. Her parents especially were rather shocked when they found out that they had a Johansen for a son in law. But they eventually grew out of it, just like all parents did. And thanks to that, there were now a bunch of raggedy Johansens in the Castle, their clothes smelling vaguely like half cooked onions to Moon.

Moon also remembered growing up alongside a specific Johansen clan member, one fellow by the name of River. She was a close friend to herself and Toffee, always supporting her. Though once Toffee and her relationship got more serious, Moon noticed her once close friend becoming more distant, almost a shadow of his normally bright, but timid self. She remembered one day in particular, where River wanted to speak to her about something 'important' before her wedding to Toffee.

Moon remembered the heartbroken look of the young man, seeing his face contort a storm of emotions. But before he could even say anything, she saw Toffee come up, asking River what was the problem. He became silent, just nodding and wishing his friends a joyous wedding. After that day, Moon never saw River much, even now that he was a knight in the castle. He always seemed to hide away from her while in the castle and avoided her gaze.

She pondered. Maybe this was why the Johansens in particular were colder to her than the rest of the Butterfly family. Moon shook her head, letting the shadows of her past glide off of her, absorbed by the walls and lights around her. It always bothered her how much she allowed the opinions of her family to shake her. All she needed to do was look over at the form of her wonderful Toffee as he took strong, confident steps forward for her to remember that she had simply wanted to be happy with the one she loved.

* * *

Some hours passed, and the sun dropped down over the horizon as always, and the three moons of Mewni shined in the darkening sky. Everything was docile and quiet, and this even seemed like it would be a dull, but absolutely normal one.

"Star? It's time to go to bed." Moon spoke softly as she tugged on Star's shoulder.

Star sighed, her tail dragging across the floor. "Do I have to?"

Moon replied with a slight sigh, not quite in the annoyed tone as her daughter, saying "Yes, Star. Please?" The soothing voice seemed to have magically tired out the little princess out, because her eyes were now bagging, and her energy began to fade.

The young hybrid yawned, nodding weakly.

A chilling hand was laid on Moon's shoulder, scaly, heartless feeling in a way. It felt dangerous, but welcoming. It was evil. It wasn't evil. It was cold, unfeeling. Out of instinct she tensed up, letting out a short gasp. Tentatively, she looked behind her, loosening up when she saw the face of her husband. She smiled, taking his reptilian hand into hers.

"Scared you?" he looked serious, seemingly more than usual.

"A bit," she responded, still recovering from her scare.

Toffee's eyes glanced over at the tired out Star, whose only will to stay awake was a childish desire to rebel against her mother. Moments ago, Moon seemed just as exhausted.

"Don't worry dear, I'll get her to fall asleep." Toffee reassured, as he normally does, but in a more serious tone than she was used to.

"Star, sweetie, me and your mother have some things to talk about. I would appreciate if… you…" Toffee started to become impatient, and what he was saying seemed like nonsense to Moon. Perhaps he was trying a weird technique to get Star to sleep?

"Please, just go to sleep." The final bit was stern, almost scolding like, as if Star had done something wrong. Even Moon seemed a bit perturbed.

Star slowly nodded, and tugged herself in, apparently unaware of it all.

"There…" Toffee walked out of the room, rapidly placing one foot over the other. "Let's go Moon."

"What? I- I don't-" She spoke, flustered, allowing Toffee to pull her along out of the room.

That evening they read together, but they hadn't spoken much. Moon couldn't help but pour over her memories from the day, bothering herself with the details over and over. She remembered the moment she felt Toffee's hand rest on her shoulder, and the way she felt when he saw him appear before her in the afternoon.

There was something off about it all. She had always loved the unique silky feeling of his scales when she traced her fingers across them. The gaps between each of his scales was unique, a trademark of each Septarian. They were like fingerprints. She always felt a warmness in the past when she imagined the uniqueness of her husband's reptilian features. There was even this sense of joy that she would always get from feeling his touch, knowing without seeing that it couldn't be a Mewman, and could only have been her husband. It was that realization that made her shiver thinking about how she reacted this time. There was a sense of overwhelming dread, even fear. She felt her heart rate intensifying and her stomach dropping, like a small animal staring down a brilliant light.

Long after they had gone off to bed, she continued mulling over the events of the day. She thought back to even earlier in the day and, suddenly, her heart stopped. She was sure that she had the answer. Her mother, the queen, had not spoken to her for very long, but her words resonated in her ears. 'Something about him doesn't feel right'. It all started to make sense, and the guilt began to crash onto her immensely. Ever since her talk with her mother, Moon had begun to feel a sense of alienation around her husband, one that she had to forcibly resist. Having linked the two together, she was sure that Queen Comet had been trying to impress a sense of weariness in her. She was sowing seeds of uncertainty, and they were beginning to sprout. Moon hated it, it felt like she had suddenly betrayed her husband. These delusions were never one to bother her; they had a beautiful daughter and a happy life together. She resolved herself to overcome these fears. She would need to spend some more time with Toffee in the coming days; she would need to come clean about these feelings and work through it all with him. She felt awful at the prospect of talking about her mother's awful words behind her back with her husband, but felt exponentially worse about hiding her feelings from him any longer.

* * *

Moon woke up in a cloudy daze, light sparkling in through the windows. She smiled, stepping out of bed, yawning. She picked up a gold and silver crown on her bed stand, placing it gleefully onto her head, like it was always meant to be there. She tried to remember last night's events as a way to ground herself back to reality. It was highly typical of Moon to do this as it would lend itself to her calmer demeanor, but today was different. She could not succeed in the re-establishing procedure, coming up short. Her memories were a distraction; she was a mix of feelings as she pondered both what has happened and the choice she is faced with. Today she had hoped she'd break down the walls she felt rising between her and the people she cared about. She pushed the predicament aside and began rifling through her drawer filled with a variety of options bathed in blues, reds, and silvers.

"Manfred? A little help here, I can't find that rustic dress I like."

A head poked out from the door, looking sullen and bland. Classic Manfred.

"Yes, your majesty," he sighed, bowing. Moon stood up, confused.

"Majesty? Manfred, I'm not-"

Suddenly, a terrible thought poured into Moon's head.

"Manfred…. Did something happen to mom?"

Manfred cocked his head to the side, before continuing to analyze her wardrobe. "Of course not, your majesty."

The young Princess sighed and finished picking out her clothes, deciding to deal with Manfred's strange behavior later. Perhaps Toffee could help.

The unsettling behavior persisted into the rest of the day, not passing as the hours did; all the servants and the nobles were acting up, sometimes calling Moon "Queen". This only furthered her anxiety, even though Toffee insured her that Queen Comet had only gone for a short visit to the Pigeon Kingdom.

Still, Moon had a feeling of anxiety; something had to have happened to her mother. Why else would everyone suddenly start calling her Queen? There were probably millions of other reasons why this was happening, but it seemed straightforward for Moon. "You only become Queen when your mother dies or is unable to fulfill her duties. If they're calling me Queen, then something is wrong with mom."

She sat down on the tiled floor, closing her eyes in agony. A part of her brain remembered that Star was waking up at that point, but she couldn't dwell on it.

"Moon, calm down." Toffee held onto Moon's shoulders. "Nothing's wrong; there's nothing to worry about."

Lies. She was certain that she was being fed lies.

"There has to be something wrong… why else would they call me queen?" The anxiety was overwhelming her.

"Nothing has changed from yesterday, dear." Moon's neck snapped to look at Toffee. "They've always called you Queen."

"What are you talking about? I have never been Queen. Mother is, and has been Queen of Mewni for my entire life. I'm a Princess, not a Queen… unless something happened to her."

Yesterday… last night. What happened last night? Something had to have happened. What was it that happened last night? Her anxiety began to boil over, slowly raising to boiling point.

Moon slapped away Toffee's hand violently.

"No! Something had to have happened to mom! Where is she?" Moon took a hold of a nearby guard. Squeezing him with the heat and power of a thousand suns. Hot, melting fury burning the guards skin. "Where is she!?"

There wasn't a single person who wasn't surprised by the outbursts and desperate actions coming from of the woman. Moon was always one who had suspicions that things weren't quite as they seemed, but would capably suspend her disbelief and let it hold only a small place in the back of her mind as she faced her day with tact and understanding. Suddenly, it was as though the opposite had become reality. Her anxieties filled her with adrenaline, being the only emotion she thought appropriate to display. All the while the small voice that told her she was being crazy and unreasonable, or that she was just wrong and causing a scene, occupied that space in the background of her conscious thoughts. Everything was wrong.

The guard stared back, petrified. He stayed silent, looking at Toffee, who seemed even more shocked than he was. A glance over at Moon taught the guard to not make such a mistake again. As if Moon was Medusa, the guard avoided eye contact fearing an unrelenting curse.

"Sh-sh-she's out t-t-traveling…" he mustered

"WHERE IS SHE REALLY!?"

The roar woke Toffee up from his haze who made a jump towards the frightening Moon.

"Moon! Stop!" Toffee's scaly hands clenched her shoulders, startling Moon enough to let the guard go. Those cold hands weren't helping Moon calm down nor put out the frantic fire inside of her.

"Stop!? My mother could be dead for all I know, and you want me to stop!?" Moon seemed crazy, as if she was about to be attacked by a pack of wolves, facing death head-on, nothing to live for, no future.

"You're being paranoid!" Toffee was starting to get provoked. His voice was taking a sterner tone.

"Paranoid my ass!" Moon's language was so out of character and the fact that her eyes seemed like those possessed by the devil could make Toffee swear he was arguing with a different Moon.

"That is not the language of a Queen!"

"I'm not a Queen!"

"Nonsense!"

"Where's my mother, Toffee!"

"In the Pigeon Kingdom, where else!?"

"WHERE'S MY MOTHER, TOFFEE!"

"Enough of this!"

Moon took a step forward, pulling out her diamond wand. A hard thump was felt on Toffee's chest. This had escalated so quickly that Moon could swear she had been picking out a dress in a more than cheerful mood just hours ago.

"Tell me where my mother is Toffee, cause you know that your immortality is only limited."

It thumped once more as the wand hovered over Toffee's darkened heart.

"MOON, CEASE THIS!"

The wand glowed purple. A strangely more than familiar chant started rolling out of Moon's mouth. And as the chant reached Toffee's ears, Moon's arms had already been tainted by the dark spell.

Toffee started to snarl at the defenseless looking Moon. A pointed hand clenched at Moon's throat as the last word of the ancient chant was about to escape her mouth.

The snarl turned into a growl, whilst Moon's pants got slower and scarcer. Toffee tightened his grip. Moon let out one final pant.

"Mommy… daddy...?"

Moon dropped to the floor. Her wand still in hand, recovering from the glow from before.

Moon heavily gasped for air, the red mark on her neck left by Toffee overshadowing her pale skin.

She glanced upwards.

The image of the reptilian king staring blankly at their daughter, who stared at both of them in utter pain, was all Moon could bear to witness right now.

She collapsed to her knees, coughing weakly. The unbridled impact of what was happening hit her as she realized she was moving backwards, but not on her own. All went black as the scent of lilac flooded her senses.

* * *

As Moon woke up from her trance, she found herself back in her bedroom, with all of her belongings untouched and in place. Moon looked over it all. It seemed a little TOO right. 'Why was everything right where it was supposed to be?' Moon reasoned that things were supposed to be this way, but not today. Today was not right. Everything was out of order. Her mother wasn't right where she was supposed to be, so why is her room? Why is everything else?

'No' she thought. This was all part of the plan. Most likely a ploy by Toffee to gain her sympathies. She looked at every item, furnishing, decoration. It was all too uncomfortably perfect. It reminded her of every interaction she had been having with Toffee since yesterday. Somehow, she had become convinced that he was at the center of everything. If only she could find her mother. She would listen to her again, she would give her words some more credence, hear her out. Now that she was gone, Moon couldn't help but brood over the reality that her last conversation with the Queen, her mom, was one of bitter arguing. But now she just didn't know.

She clutched her bedding aggressively. He was probably the one that killed her mother. He must have known about her suspicions. There was nothing in her but anxiety and horror at the realization that she would have to face this situation again. She would have to face Toffee again. The thoughts bounced around in her head for a while, before she finally decided it better to try to escape rather then indulge herself in her own theories.

She rushed to her door, but found it to be locked and, quite possibly, physically barred from the outside.

Moon frowned and plopped back on her bed, silently screeching onto her pillows.

After a second of contemplation, she got back up and searched around for her wand. She pushed her belongings away from the shelf, believing that Toffee had hid it in her room. A stupid thought. The wand rested easily in Toffee's pockets, the new mission was to find the lizard king.

There had to be a key hidden around here somewhere. More rustling filled the echoey room. And after what seemed like an eternity, Moon had given up. She laid back in her bed, welcomed by the mess she had created. A high pitched whine escaped her mouth, the whine turned into a moan, the moan to a sob.

"My sweet daughter" she thought, "what had he done to her…" a weird yet honest thought. She had never been distrustful of her lover before, yet her feeling for him now couldn't have been described any better. She imagined all of the time they spent together. The nights reading, the picnics, the talks, the moments of controlled affection. All of these moments started to REALLY feel like imaginations. It hurt to think about; it made Moon angry. She clenched her fist, stood up and banged on the wooden door. She pounded on the laquered door a few more times until a distinct sound came from the other side of the door, approaching her room. It was unmistakable what was making that sound, the jingling of keys. She dashed back to her bed and covered herself in the covers.

Clang

They reached her.

Clink

That door was about to open, and fear was never more potent in Moon.

Swang

The door opened.

She clenched her blanket as well as she could. Tears started to run down Moon's cheeks.

Clang… clang...

Steps echoed against the silver plated floor. A shadow showering Moon in disgust. She clenched her blanket once more, and although she was determined to make it out alive from this encounter, her pride would not.

"Moon…" an amateurish sounding voice whispered. "Queen Moon?" it repeated.

Moon was relieved that it wasn't Toffee, but remained a bit skeptical about the boyish sounding person. She peeked out cautiously through her covers.

A young mewman guard stared back at her. He was short, and relatively fit. He seemed younger than Moon by about two or three years, but she was sure those looks betrayed the reality that this man was actually a little older than her. His height and young appearance made the man seem like a boy. Long blond hair, reaching up to his shoulders. It didn't take long for Moon to recognize the young man, one whom she had once known so well.

"I have come to help you escape, Queen Moon." he saluted nervously. "It seems I have the only other keys, see?" he demonstrated the collection of keys he had hanging by his waist.

"River?" Moon looked doubtfully, not that her voice could convey such calmness.

"Yes Queen, River Johansen, Guard of the Dungeon, your highness." he once more saluted. "Now quickly here, there's not much time to waste."

Moon had followed the boyish looking man without hesitation. She may have been paranoid and worried about how weird everyone was being, but she had no reason not to trust one of her childhood friends, and any escape was a great escape. The guard seemed to be taking her to the back of the castle, where a secret exit was located. It was a tedious journey, as it seems Toffee had ordered the guard to look out for any Mewni royals.

"It seems I am the only one to remember who they were contracted to serve," River commented, "these guards seem to have cracked under the pressure." She disagreed with this sentiment. The Knights were contracted to serve the Queen, Queen Comet.

After a an hour or two of creeping through long hallways and vacant rooms, they had finally reached the last one.

River stopped Moon and peeked into the other hallways. It was a short passageway with a secret exit at the end, a vending machine labeled "Corn Haven" a machine originally placed there for the royal magic teacher. A floating blue man, as the princesses described him.

The guard stood up and turned around to face the young queen. "Okay Moon, it appears the coast is clear." He looked back at the hallway, confident in their final leg of the escape. What he wasn't counting on was his confidence being welcomed by a particularly serpent looking king. Toffee had appeared from practically out of nowhere, clenching his pointy fingers his rounded, young looking face, trapping it in his cold, nightmarish grasp.

"Welcome sweetie," he snarled, "it seems you've found an old friend while I was gone." He forced his grip onto River's face, until he became limp and lifeless. Its motionless body collapsed in front of the frightened Queen. A wheeze was heard.

"T-T-Toffee…"

"The one and only." A cocky answer, not one Moon would associate with Toffee.

Moon built up her composure once more. "Where's my family, Toffee?"

"Your family?" Toffee looked down at the young guard whom he had squeezed the life out of. His glance made its way to his name tag. River. He chuckled. "They're frolicking by the riverside, Moon, having the time of their lives." Toffee's words came in loud and clear to Moon. An ear-splitting cry bounced around the castle. A group of brave guards, that seemed to have woken up from the hypnosis Toffee had them in, approached the chuckling reptile from every direction.

They were no match for him. With the guards' blood, Toffee painted the walls red. The more that came, the louder Moon's whalings became. Red. Toffee had dipped his hands in more of the dreadful red paint. He had continued to slice and tear, squeeze, smash, and overpower until guards stopped coming. It was only the two of them now.

Toffee's words echoed in Moon's head.

Toffee had nearly coated the walls of the castle completely in blood. He just needed one more stroke. Toffee was tired from all the stroking and slashing needed for the job. He panted slowly in place, nothing but the red paint seemed to interest him or distract him. A whisper reached his ears. An all too familiar whisper. He patted his waist and realized an important royal family heirloom was gone. Where was it? A sharp turn behind him answered that question. Moon, his dear lovely wife, had the wand in hand. The purple shine blinding him so. He growled, and snarled, the final stroke of the red paint was in reach. He leaped forward as the final words of the all too familiar whisper left the broken Queen's mouth.

Before she knew it, she was frolicking by the riverside, the riverside next to the newly painted castle.

* * *

"Mother?" The young Princess asked, shaking her own shoulder in fright and panic.

"Mother?"

"Mommy?" She whispered, her voice melting away into the wind like butter on a hot summer day. A few moments passed; she crawled into a smaller form, shivering as her limbs fought to stay closer to her body. Her tail was shaking like a rattlesnake.

Speaking of reptiles….

Star fled to the inner crevices of her room, which had been locked from the outside. Her father was returning, she had to hide! She could hear the pitter patter of his slimy looking feet as he slowly traversed the Castle.

"Captain!" she cried, pounding her hands on the painting on her wall, "Please! Permission to come aboard?"

There was an awful silence that lasted for a few minutes, before the painting finally slid over and revealed an ancient passageway, lost to time before Star had discovered it, weeks earlier.

She frantically launched herself into the tight crevice, hastily working to make sure there was no trace of her escape left in her room. All while the pitter patter of her father's footsteps grew louder and louder. She curled up inside, shivering from the thin plaster that covered her from the outside.

There she waited for the world to balance itself once again. She waited until peace could return. She waited for a time when her mother would come back.

* * *

Moon came to with a start. She looked around. At first all she could see was the image of a riverside and a bright sunlight beaming down upon her face. Soon the farce began to dissolve and she saw only moonlight above. She saw shattered glass, cracked and crushed stone and brick, and red. So much red. She saw the vision of her daughter, shivering inside the walls of the castle, crying and alone. It tore into her soul. Then she looked around again.

There were many bodies around her, all cold, and only one still moving. The form of her reptilian husband slowly righted itself, his bodied covered in nicks and scratches, his suit jacket long since deposited somewhere in the hallway. The floor between them was blasted down to the foundation, tiles pulverized from an explosive force. She felt weak, lightheaded, and hot around her collarbone. She thought she felt the trickling of blood.

"I've had my fun, Moon" the lizard uttered. "I think it is time for you to go back to the rivers-".

He stopped. Looking past Moon who still remained helplessly laying on her back, he saw her. The only other monster in the castle. The small Star looked on, petrified at everything. She saw the bodies, the walls, the destruction, and her mother. She shook, stared, and then screamed.

'She's right here now' Moon realized with dread.

"Mommy! Mommy! Wh-waaaah!" The little girl clung to her mother's head with her tiny hands, long beyond words. The terror in her voice and the shaking of her little arms around Moon just intensified the feelings of terror that already filled her. There was nothing she could do to protect her child from this monster.

"Y-you h..ave to r-run, Star."

Star continued to convulse and wail, holding her mother's head. It was all interrupted when his cold, voice returned, piercing the exclusivity of their moment together on the floor.

"Star, sweety, come to me. You'll be happier without these urchins. I will create a better home for you than these disgusting mewmans ever could."

Star looked up at him for the first time. When he saw her eyes, he saw in them something he was all too used to: terror, horror, fear. She didn't bear love, depency, or familiarity in those eyes anymore, instead her eyes looked at him as though he were an alien, a monster.

Toffee's eyes sharpened and his voice became rougher. "Oh, so you're just going to pretend you're one of them now? Like you're NOT a monster? Like I'm the weird one? I still love you, Star, but you've clearly been tainted by these wretched people. So I'm going to take you away from here where you'll learn to treat your monster family with due respect."

He paced toward the little girl who clung to Moon tighter. Moon panicked and mustered up whatever she could to blast the maniacal lizard away. She raised her wand, but not much came out. Toffee simply smacked the magic blasts away with his hand, dismissing Moon completely. When he had finally closed the gap, he reached his hand around their child and began to pick her up. The small lizard girl clutched as tightly as she could to her mother, her unsettling screams picking up frantically. It took just a few seconds before her grip had given way. Toffee held her to him in his hand, the girl wriggling and shivering helplessly as he slung her over his shoulder before turning and beginning to walk away.

"You'll thank me for this later. Both of you."

Moon watched on helplessly. She was sitting up now, but her legs were like gelatin. She feared watching as the last thing she cared about was yanked away and out of her life forever.

Everything had grown cold. Colder than it had ever been. Inside and outside, energy, life, and light had died down. Perhaps this really was the end.

"I told you not to fidget while we're in the portal!"

Suddenly, she felt heat again. She felt warmth, she could see light. Startled by this she turned to see what had just happened. Apparently even Toffee had noticed from a number of paces down the hallway. She saw a wall of fire which had materialized out of thin air. It burned for all of two or three seconds before it had vanished, leaving behind two new people. There was a lilac skinned demon from the underworld, and a small, tanned mewman looking girl wearing rather interesting clothing. It was all a bit too unusual for her.

"Queen Moon! Are you alright!" Tom said as he came over to her and crouched.

"You're looking young, Queen," Janna commented.

Moon stared at them, wide-eyed. She wasn't entirely sure what to say.

"You look like you're from the underworld. Do I know you?"

"Wha-? Of course you do. It's me, Prince Lucitor from the underworld. We were at the party with you just a little while ago."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but you do seem familiar. The Lucitors' child was still much younger than you are, though."

Tom scratched his head with confusion. This whole situation seemed strange to him.

Janna spoke up again. "Remember, Tom, things don't all have to make sense in here."

"Fair enough," he replied.

Janna had looked around at all of the destruction and death that surrounded them. It almost bothered her, but she knew that none of it was real. In fact, she couldn't help but find the whole situation incredibly interesting to her simply knowing that she was able to witness something so intense without any actual loss of life. Dreams were really something amazing.

Toffee had turned around to address the new situation, moving a few paces closer to the group. "What do we have here? Are you going to stop me now?"

Janna looked over at Toffee, and then the little girl he was carrying. She also noticed the little cheek marks on the girls face. The pieces started to lock together for her.

"Okay, I think know what is going on here," she said.

Tom helped Moon to her feet and held one of her arms around his shoulder for support. They both turned to face the girl.

"Moon, I know this probably feels super real for you, but this is a dream. None of this is real."

Moon and Toffee's eyes both widened. The Queen wasn't sure what to make of this.

"Star doesn't look like that, in fact, she's as old as we are. You have to come to your senses so we can all get out of here before Star does something reckless like going after Marco alone."

"Marco…?" Moon pondered for a moment. Something about that name seemed familiar. The name Tom seemed familiar too. All of the emotions stirring in her had dulled. Suddenly she felt more confused than concerned. Her mind was caught on the fence between two realities.

"I don't know what you are blathering on about over there, but I'll not allow someone to try and undo any of these." Toffee began closing in, prepared to litter the floors with more bodies. When the lizard reached his hand out, he suddenly felt searing pain. He heard low chanting from the demon before a searing inferno erected itself between him and the rest of them, singing his arm until he chopped it off. Another arm soon rematerialized to take its place.

On the other side of the wall, Janna pleaded with Moon. "I really don't feel like dying in here, so please try and remember." Janna shook the woman's shoulders lightly. "I'm sure Star will wake up King River any time now, and when she does we have to get back to them quickly."

"King… River?" Moon lingered on the words for a few seconds. River? The man who had just died in front of her? The knight who served her for years? Her childhood friend? She had remembered the games they played, the talks they had, even their last conversation before her wedding day. Suddenly, she couldn't see Toffee in any of those memories anymore. It all sounded right… not too right, but exactly right. Just the perfect amount of right for her to finally believe it and be comfortable with the thought. This had to be right.

Suddenly, a flood of memories came flowing back to her. She remembered her childhood, her mom's untimely demise, her ascension to Queen. She remembered her deal with Eclipsa, the spell she unleashed, and her time as Queen of Mewni. Then she remembered her husband, the small, stout, ball of fire that was River Johansen, a brave, dumb, loyal man who stood beside her in her darkest times and fought every battle alongside her. Then she remembered Star. She remembered her Star. Golden locks, a beautiful cheek marks, and a fiery spirit, just like her father. It all locked into place for her. All of this was fake.

She looked beyond the fire at the little girl over Toffee's shoulder and felt a strange mix of emotions. She cared for the little thing, but now she knew it was because the girl resembled her real daughter in so many ways that she did so. She even imagined the girl wielding the wand with its wacky new design. She stood up and steeled herself.

"I'm sorry for getting you both involved in this mess. Do you know how we're supposed to get out of here?"

Janna shrugged her shoulders. "Glossaryck said we just need to 'solve the problem'. I don't know what that means yet, but I assume it has something to do with Scales over there.

Moon looked through the fire wall and thought for a moment, before finally coming to a conclusion. "Okay Tom, you can put the fire down."

"Are you sure about that, Queen Butterfly?"

Moon inhaled. "Yes, I'm positive."

Tom's posture relaxed and the fire disappeared, but on the other side ot it, Toffee's scowl remained in intact.

Moon had regained the feeling in her body, as though the impact of this world was slowly losing its grip on her. Even the feeling of her collarbone had returned to normal. She let go of Tom and stepped forward to face her 'husband'. Toffee stepped forward too.

"You seem confident all of a sudden. Do I need to break you all over again?" he spat.

"You lost a long, long time ago, Toffee. You're only as powerful as I choose to make you, and I've finally decided that it is time to make you the helpless one."

* * *

Moon thought back to her memory of her by the riverside with her family. They were happy together, but moreover, they were strong. She imagined herself, her manic, excitable husband, and her beautiful, energetic teen daughter. They were all together, sharing a moment of intimacy with their arms around one another. The lizard was gone.

* * *

Moons eyes opened. She stared up at the ceiling and was met with their well lit room in the castle. She sat up and looked around. Some things were out of place, a few pieces of their furniture were even broken or damaged. Despite all of this, it felt right. Completely right. It felt like she had been gone for a lifetime, but she knew she was finally home.

The Queen got out of bed and saw as Tom and Janna also awakened and returned to their feet.

"I don't know about you, but that was pretty cool."

Tom covered his face with his hand. "Maybe for you. I'm just glad we're back out of the dream." Tom scanned the room. "Speaking of which, where are the others?" They saw that River was no longer asleep, but he, Star, and Pony Head were all absent.

"It looks like everything's okay." Janna said. "If River's not here, they must have already woken him up. Now we just gotta figure out where they went-"

They were interrupted by violet light pulsing throw the room. It had come in from the window and practically drowned the room for a full few seconds. Moon made her way over to the window and saw the source, a dying purple glow coming from within the Forest of Certain Death.

Moon's expression darkened quickly as the weight of responsibility perched back onto her shoulders. "I think we know what has their attention..."

 **Chapter 15 was written by Saokpe, Haunted Melon and KuriyanBBQ.**


	16. Darkness, Part 1 - Pitfalls of Hearts

Moon was trying to reach her bedroom with haste. The dream might have been over, but the emotions from it were still fresh. She needed to see Star herself.

"Star!"

"Mom!"

As Moon predicted, Star was looking out a window at the same thing she had just witnessed. She ran to her and hugged her firmly. River was surprised at the emotional outburst.

"Are you alright, dear?"

"I- Mom. Air-"

She quickly let go of her.

"Sorry. I'm just glad to see you."

"Me too mom. But do you feel alright?"

"A little weak, but otherwise I feel okay."

"You sure about that?"

"I am."

"Because you look pale. Well, more pale than usual."

"You don't need to worry about me, sweety. Now, tell me - what do you intend to do?"

"Do what, mom?"

"Don't play dumb, Star. I know you. I know how you feel about Marco."

Star looked back at Moon, surprised.

"Everyone does."

"Not like me; I'm your mother."

"Not this again…"

"Star, look at me. I know what he means to you. It is true that I was never really happy you falling in love with an outsider, but…" She looked at River, who, him being him, didn't understand her notion. "I was once deeply in love with an outsider too. You cannot imagine the racket it caused. But, I stuck to my conviction and years later I gave birth to a beautiful, albeit headstrong baby girl, that for some reason took great joy keeping me awake almost every night."

Star smiled back at her. She couldn't remembered her mother ever being this emotionally open.

"Go get him."

"Sooooo, you are fine with me going after Eclipsa?"

"No. Far from it. But I also know that if I tried to stop you, I would fail anyway and you'd hate for it. And I don't want that."

Star hugged her mother once more. "Thank you."

"But you have to me promise one thing."

"What's that?"

"Wait with the idea of having family of your own, okay? I don't feel old enough to become a grandma."

"I'll make no promises."

"Star!"

"Just joking. I'll be back soon and in one piece, I promise. Hopefully with Marco as well. Thanks, mom!"

After her last words she ran away out to meet her friends.

With her parents recovering, she thought back to the day when she first arrived on Earth. A lot has happened since then, from the laughs and fun she shared with Marco, to the dangers they fought off together. But even after all of those experiences, it had never occurred to her that she'd be fighting against Marco. Her… friend, now seems to be allied with Eclipsa. It sounds crazy, even to her, but it was the only reason Star could imagine for everything that had happened.

Star looked down the empty hallway. The vacantness she gazed into started to feel more like home, like a familiar place she felt she belonged to. She almost made peace with it.

"No!"

Despite everything, all of those memories were engraved too deep to ignore. He might have hurt her parents and even her, but that wasn't the same boy standing by her side even in the dire times. Star was sure that something must have happened to him and, even if no one else would believe it, she was determined to cling to that truth to the very end. It was this determination that was pushing her onwards toward her room where the gang gathered. Janna was standing in the corner, being her typical aloof self, while Tom and Pony Head were sitting on bed and discussing their experiences inside River's and Moon's heads. Star gathered their attention to suggest the next course of action.

"You must be joking right now." It was a good thing that Tom took the initiative, considering Pony Head's face.

"I am not," responded Star. "I'm telling you that wasn't Marco. Nothing he said made any sense."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because… It doesn't… It just didn't, OK?"

"That's not very convincing."

"Look, guys, I just know he needs our help."

"Alright, girl." Pony Head's voice was calm, which did not correspond with the anger in her eyes. Star knew this is going to get ugly. "I love you, you know that, right? And I'm behind you all the time, like, 100%." She then took a deep, really deep breath and proceeded to release all the cumulated air in her lungs to express the following statement: "AREYOUCRAZYTHATEARTHTURDDITCHEDYOUFORYOURGRANDMAHURTYOURPARENTSANDYOUWANTTOHELPHIMIAMGONNASLAPYOUINTHEFACEUNTILYOUWAKEUP!"

Her voice was a single high-pitched sound that kept bouncing around from the walls. Tom had to cover his ears, while Janna and Star didn't seem to mind.

"Okay, first of all, he did not ditch me, he was kidnapped."

"You don't know that!"

Star's face was now covered by worries. "I am, because… of our talk we had yesterday."

"What talk?" Pony Head suspiciously turned down her eyes. "Girl, I know everything about you, because as your best friend it's my job to protect you even from yourself and I'm sure I didn't see you two talking."

"There are things even you don't about me."

"Oh, right, and pigeons can talk."

"We discussed our future and-"

"Yeah, yeah, you love each other, blah blah blah. What could you- OOOOOOOOOOOOH!" It was like lightning struck her at that moment. "YOU DID NOT TALK ABOUT… THAT?!"

Star looked at Tom, who seemed pretty annoyed with Pony Head's antics. But she was more worried about Janna, who was still silently observing them. That made her far more uneasy than Pony Head's hysteria.

"Yes, we did. Which is why I don't believe his sudden change of heart. It simply makes no sense."

"B-fly, that theory of yours lacks anything concrete."

"It's all I need."

"Yeah, well, it's not enough for me."

"Are you saying you're not going?"

"Whatever is happening in that forest can't be good and I'm too young and pretty to die."

"I see. And you, Tom?"

It was obvious that Star felt sad by Pony Head's refusal to help. But Tom wasn't exactly thrilled about idea either.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I agree with Pony Head. I mean come on, Star. Isn't it possible that your feelings for him is making you wish he didn't do that willingly?"

Point Head was staring at him with open mouth.

"Did you just… agree with me?"

"Shut up."

"Ooooh no no no no. I am so going to use this against you!"

"Hmpf!"

With both of them out of the picture, Star was forced to ask Janna for help. She was unsettled and did not like the idea one bit.

"Uhm, Janna? What about… you?"

Janna, of course, knew this; her smirk was giving her away.

"Count me in."

"Yeah, I expected this an- Wait, what?!"

Now, all three of them were staring with open mouths.

"You… You will?"

"Going into a dangerous forest to save Marco, who put your parents into nightmares? After what I saw in Moon's dream, I want to experience it for real!"

"Uh, right." Star moved her sight back to Pony Head and Tom, who were still incredulously gazing at Janna. "Well guys, looks like my 'best friends' bailed on me, huh? Nice to know you have my back."

The first one to snap back into reality was Tom. "What?"

"Janna, pack your things, we're leaving."

Star made sure to make a theatrical exit so that he would know she is pissed. It worked perfectly.

"Oh no, you are not doing this to me right now!"

She stopped and made a slow and dramatic turn with her head.

"Doing what?"

"This… mind game. You're trying to make me feel bad. Well it won't work!"

"Okay," she shrugged her shoulders. "You have everything?" she asked Janna, who was passing her by.

"Yep."

"Great. Let's go."

They both left the room and went straight for the castle's exit.

"You think it will work?" whispered Janna.

"Wait few seconds."

They made three steps exactly when Tom's rawr has sprung up across the hallway.

"ARRRGGHHH! OK, fine! You want my help? You will have my help! But just to make things clear: I am not doing this for Marco."

"Of course not," agreed Janna. "You're doing this for me." She winked at him in a way that could be described as an unspecified combination of flirting and sarcasm.

Tom's face was a display of pure disgust.

"Pony Head, we're going!" yelled Star.

The flying pony was still frozen by what has happened in front of her a good two minutes ago.

"Whaaaa?"

"Ugh!" nodded Tom who proceeded to grab her by the hair.

"Ow! Not there! NOT THERE!"

* * *

As Star looked onward to the forest, with a wavering expression on her face, she caught a glimpse of a small songbird with streaks of blue on its feathers, flying up and up and up, into the dim purple sky of Mewni.

Just beyond the forest was the one Star loved above all else, her prince, the key to everything she longed for. Of course, he was locked away with the deceit of her conniving snake of a grandmother. Typical for her luck.

Star turned back one more time to see Butterfly Castle in all of its beauty and sighs.

"Shall we?"

Weirdly enough, there was nothing inside the forest that wanted to kill them, or do anything at all. Everything was just silently moving left and right with the flowing purple fog between the trees. It made the place look almost dreamy, though the feeling it was creating in them was anything but.

"Guys," started Pony Head, "I know this place is suppose to give you the creeps, but I'm shaking even in my legs."

"You don't have legs, Pony," responded Tom.

"That's my point! I didn't feel this bad even when I heard about the Bounce Lounge closing down. This ain't normal, I tell you."

"Your yammering, on the other hand, is as annoying as ever."

"Oooh, you wanna start this right here and now, demon boy?!"

"On the contrary, I want you to shut your mouth!"

"OH!"

Star, who was surprisingly calm considering the unnerving setting, briskly turned around.

"Will you both cut it out?!"

"(S)He started it!" replied both at the same time.

"Ugh! This forest is soaked in raw dark magic. It's apparently affecting our behaviour. You have to calm down!"

"Oh, you mean like you're doing right now?" teased her Pony Head.

"Pony!"

"No, she's right," agreed Tom. "I felt it even when we were standing outside. It soothes my nerves, though."

"That's a funny way showing it," replied Star.

"I just wanted you to know how I feel every day. It ain't pretty, is it?"

Tom could clearly see rage building up in Star's eyes.

"But I'm done."

"Wise choice, pretty boy," replied Pony.

"How about you, Janna?" asked Star.

Her friend were standing there silently, without saying a word, or showing any emotion.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered.

To anyone else that would be a sufficient answer. But for Janna it seemed to them as if her response lacked a certain… personal involvement.

"Are you sure? You look a little pale. Well, paler, than usual."

"Uhm."

"Well, if you say so. We have to move quickly. And find the source of the flow."

"QUICKLY?!" snapped Pony Head. "We're in the freaking Forest of Certain Death! If this was the Forest of Certain Fun, I'd be flying around here like crazy, but it isn't and I don't want to die, surely not for your Earth turd!"

"Stop calling him that!" yelled back Star. "Phew, okay, look. Forest, by the looks of it, has its own problems dealing with this huge insurgence of dark magic. The place seems like it is too busy to kill us; we were standing here for over three minutes now and not a single thing has happened to us!"

"That's a good point," Tom agreed. "How do you plan to find the source, though? You don't have a map, do you?"

"No. But how hard can it be? All this magic must be coming from somewhere."

"You mean like a river?" asked Pony Head.

"Yeah. Just like that."

"I dunno. It can't be that easy."

Star wasn't paying attention to her anymore. She was focusing on the thin purple stripes floating in the air.

"I think I have it. Let's go!"

Their road ahead was complicated to say at least. The forest was in constant flux and its changes were almost like subtle changes in someone's dream. It was hard to focus on the right direction and even Tom started to feel agitated.

"How much longer, Star?" asked Pony Head.

"I wish I knew."

"So we are basically walking around blind. That's great. I definitely didn't feel like doing that today. I was really looking forward TO NOT DOING IT AT ALL!"

Even though Tom has not felt this calm in, well, forever, Pony Head's yelling managed to anger him a bit.

"You aren't helping."

"Yeah, well, it's not like you are doing anything constructive with that pretty face of yours."

Pony could shock other people rather easily, but this was the first time that she had found it was her being shocked.

"What?"

"What?"

Tom was impaling her with confused sight, while she was trying really hard not to appear nervous. Not very successfully. She quickly turned her sight back to Star.

"So, uhm, B-fly, any success?"

"Yeah, Star," added Tom. "As much as I like this place, I have no intention of spending an eternity in here."

"Can you be silent for a few seconds? I think I heard something."

"Really? What is it?"

"I'll let you know once I'm able to hear it again. Please give me a sec to listen."

By this point the sound was already gone.

"Whatever made it must have ran away. Waiiiiiiit. What's that?"

While she was listening to the forest, she noticed a small, almost too subtle change in the background color. Whatever it was, it was clear that it did not belong there.

All three of her friends were suddenly looking for this strange thing that caught Star's attention. They had no idea what to look for, nor where. But whenever someone made such a comment in the Forest of Certain Death, it always meant trouble.

"What did you see?" asked Pony with perceptible fear in her voice.

"I'm not sure. It almost looked like… a light."

Pony looked at Tom to confirm her confusion.

"Uh, not to dampen your zeal, girl, but did you look around recently? Light is everywhere around us. What's weird about seeing one?"

"Because," Star pointed to direction where the small yellow light reappeared, "it doesn't belong there."

And indeed, there was a tiny, barely visible yellow dot. However, unlike everything in this forest, this one was completely still.

"Ooooh. What do you think it is?"

"I have no idea."

"Maybe it's the source of this weirdness," suggested Tom.

"Could be," agreed Star. "I mean, we're practically blind here."

"We should find out what it is."

Everyone almost jumped when they heard that voice. It was Janna, who decided to break the silence.

"Oh look, it's our sleeping beauty," noted Pony Head sarcastically. "Did you have a nice nap?" The sarcasm in her voice was so sharp it could cut through a tree.

"Yep."

"You're now back in the real world?"

"Yep."

"100%?"

"Yep."

"You're a damn chatterbox, aren't you?"

"Yep."

If it wasn't for this forest affecting their senses, they could all appreciate the rarity of this situation; Pony Head being beaten at her own game.

"Well, as usual as Janna sounds," began Star, "she is right. That is as good place as any to look for the source."

"Is anyone here worried what other things we may have find there?" asked Pony.

"Are you afraid?" replied Star.

"Me? Nah! I'm just, you know, trying to come up with backup plan in case we run into monster that will try to eat our brains or whatever."

"Since when do you think about a plan B? Or any plans for that matter?"

"Oh, look who's talking!"

"...Well, we should make haste. I'd like to leave this place sooner rather than later."

After roaming the forest for several minutes without getting any closer to the elusive light in the distance, it was getting clear that "later" would be the more accurate estimate. Their confusion was growing with each passing minute, as their march didn't have the desired effect. They checked the ground beneath their feet several times to assure themselves that they were in fact moving. Despite the obvious evidence, their goal was not getting any closer.

"This is _ridiculouuuuuuuuus_!" One of Pony Head's many specialties was to express her frustration as a combination of yelling and singing. "I'm sorry B-fly, but I have to inform you that I have had enough of this and I'm getting out of this horrible place."

"Stop being so melodramatic," said Janna.

"I'm sorry, but you have no say in this matter."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you're creepy! And if I didn't know you better I'd say your were born here!"

"Meh. It's a cool place, but a few decorations here and there would definitely improve it."

"Point made. Bye!"

"Pony Head…" whispered Star.

She was pointing to something in front of them. Even Tom and Janna have fixed their sight on it. But Pony was too busy making dramatic exit.

"No, B-fly, this way- *thud* OUCH! Who on Mewni places a door in the middle of… Wait a second…"

She was now giving this newly spawned object her full and undivided attention, which for her was quite an accomplishment.

"How did it get here?" Her voice was now silent and high pitched, like that of a child. "I was going away and this wasn't here and it just popped and I'll _fllfflsmfl."_

Star closed her mouth and held it shut so she could hear herself think.

"You all saw it, right?"

Both Janna and Tom nodded in agreement.

"I just blinked my eyes and it just… Just…"

"Poof!" Tom finished the thought.

But Janna wasn't shocked; she was surprised.

"That was awesome! I need to learn this trick. This could earn me easy money at kids' magic shows!"

No one paid attention to her comment. After the initial surprise, they all began to examine this mysterious building. Star noticed that it was a regular, fully-featured house. Absolutely nothing weird about that. She also noticed the light coming from a nearby window.

"Look, in the window. It's the same light we were following. This has gotta be it!"

"That much is obvious," agreed Tom, "but what _is_ it?"

"A house."

"Apparently. But what is it doing here? I mean, I saw a lots of crazy stuff back home, but it all made sense. This thing, however - doesn't belong here."

"We should go in," suggested Star.

This disrupted Pony Head from her trance of amazement and horror.

"Whaaaat?! Are you crazy?!"

"Do you have a better idea? Look around, Pony! We are in the middle of nowhere. For real this time. We could be roaming this place for hours, days even and still wouldn't be able to find anything at all! This house over here is the _only_ lead we have!"

"You mean the only lead _you_ have."

"Not this again…"

"I'm sorry, B-fly, but none of us wanted to come here. Well, except maybe for 'miss spooky witch' over he- Wait, where is she?"

Shortly after that the sound of someone opening a door reached her ears.

"Oh look, it's open!"

"JANNA!"

"You know, on Earth it's considered rude not to enter after you open doors," she smiled.

"Oh I will erase that smirk from your face, you little…!"

Star stopped Pony Head just in time to prevent her from jumping on Janna.

"Pony, for crying out loud, cool it down!"

"I don't want to hurt her! I just want to do a minor correction surgery on her face!"

"Tom, little help here?!"

"I'm sorry, Star, but she is right. She is-"

Pony turned her head towards him and he saw two eyes burning up from all the anger like two hell holes. The prince of the underworld felt a strange sensation in his chest, if only for a second. That tiny time window was enough for any good opportunist to take advantage of the situation. Janna was, among many things, an exemplary opportunist. She stepped in before Tom could say or do anything.

"Guys! I think I saw someone moving at the back of the hall!"

It wasn't the message itself that made them all to move their heads in unison. It was the drama in Janna's voice. Her worried, almost scared face finished the job.

"Really?" asked Star. "Who did you see?"

"I dunno. It was just silhouette."

Star let go of Pony Head and came closer to the doors to peek inside the house. She wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting to see inside, but deep down she hoped that somehow iit would be Marco, just standing there, waiting for her. Alas, the hallway was devoid of all life. Despite this, the house itself felt warm and welcoming, as if it was waiting there for any traveling lost souls.

She naturally stepped in.

"Star, what are you doing?!" silently yelled Pony Head.

"It's… it is…" A part of her was fighting the urge to go deeper into the house. But eventually that part was silenced by the warmth emanating from every object inside. "It's fine." Her voice now sounded mellow and content.

That made Pony Head even more uneasy, but it also put a bug into her head. When she looked around her, she shaw only a weird looking, constantly shifting forest in a really nasty shade of purple. It was extremely unwelcoming. The house in front of her, on the other hand, was anything but. A glaring contrast to its surroundings. A light that was meant to attract.

"Well, maybe… I mean, it doesn't look any better outside." The inner fight in her voice was palpable, but also diminishing.

Tom felt fine in the Forest, but even he couldn't help but to wonder what might be in the house. The truth was he was kinda hungry and could eat something.

"Do you think we could eat inside?"

Janna was, well… Janna. She never revealed to anyone what she was feeling unless she wanted to. And she really didn't want to.

"Hey, how about instead of talking about going inside we actually go inside?"

At this point, anything involving the house sounded like a great idea.

When they all entered it, doors didn't sinisterly slammed with a spooky sound and with cloud of dust for effect. Instead they neatly closed without even locking themselves. What for? They were all where they wanted to be and leaving didn't even cross their mind.

The interior was well lit, so every detail of its equipment and decor was clearly visible. They were observing everything with great interest: from the tapestries of ancient sceneries, to the elegant lamps evenly placed, to the perfectly placed exquisite furniture. It was like an extreme form of feng shui. Everything had its place, function, and form.

The entry hallway was quite long and not very wide. On its left side there were stairs leading to second floor. While the lamps downstairs glowed with yellow light, the ones up above glimmered in red. The practical function of this seemingly trivial change was unknown, but aesthetically it created an almost mesmerizing effect.

"I should-"

"-go there."

Pony Head smoothly finished Tom's initial thought. They didn't even have to look at each other. Something was telling them that up there they would find something they wanted. Though what that was remained a mystery to them. They went up with a spark in their eyes.

Janna didn't understand the attraction of the red light upstairs. Something else caught her attention: a single candle slowly burning on a wardrobe at the end of the hall. Its blue light was calling to Janna, drawing her towards it. There was something familiar about it. When she reached it, a gentle draft from the left moved the blue fire. A door opened leading to a room filled with magical items from top to bottom. It was like as if Christmas had come early this year.

"No way… It can't be."

She went in with a spark in her eyes.

Star wasn't bothered by her friends leaving her alone. She felt safe there. Nothing could possibly happen to her.

"Are you going to keep just standing there?"

Star's attention was now fully focused on a voice coming from behind the wall on the right. She didn't see any doors, nor an entrance of any kind. It was a mystery where it might have came from. But the voice itself… That voice…

"Look, I know we haven't seen each other in a while, but I'm pretty sure you didn't come here just to observe the house."

Wind moved the heavy red curtains hanging on the right wall. That had to be the entrance she initially didn't see.

"Well, come inside. We have a lot to talk about."

"M-" Her breathing became heavy once she realized why that voice sounded so familiar. "Marco?"

With a weird mix of fear and excitement, she came to the curtains and placed her hands on them. She felt a warm draft coming from behind. But also a pleasant scent.

"Well, don't start being shy now. Come on in."

She took a deep breath and moved the curtains aside.

* * *

The second floor was the epitome of luxury. Luxury carpets on the ground, luxury candles on the walls, luxury chandeliers on the ceiling, luxury textiles hanging around the edges and corners. Even the air smelled of luxury. But all of that was there just to invoke the atmosphere. A very specific atmosphere for a very concrete purpose. One that neither of them were expecting nor experienced with.

"What do you think this place is?" asked Pony Head.

"I have no idea. But I like it. Which is weird because I hate tacky stuff and this place is literally filled with it. I should be angry, but I feel… happy? How that is even possible I do not know. Everything here is so…" Ever since they set foot inside the house, this was the first time he laid his eyes on Pony Head. "...beautiful."

Pony head returned him his sight.

"Yeah, it is."

The sparks in their eyes were blazing with excitement. Until Tom broke the sight to tell Pony what has he found.

"Look!"

"What?"

"The doors over there - they are open."

"Wanna check out what's inside?"

"Well, we've worn this place out. We might as well explore the next one."

With no objections from her side, Tom went straight for the opened room and looked inside.

"What do you see?" asked Pony.

"Uhm… a bedroom?"

"A wha-" She quickly flew to him to see it for herself. "Damn, you're right. It is a bedroom."

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Did you see the other doors?"

"What about them?"

"Why would they need so many bedrooms?"

"What makes you think they are bedrooms?"

"What else they could be?"

"I dunno, storage rooms?"

"Really? Storage rooms on a floor filled with doors and with this huge bedroom?"

"I… I mean… Nah, you're right. That's dumb."

The bedroom was packed full of dark pink color coming from seemingly out of nowhere. They both noticed that when they focused in on it.

"Should we go in?" asked Tom.

"Whaaaaat, is the prince of the Underworld afraid of some cozy pink room?"

"Pft! Don't be ridiculous! I'm not afraid of anything, and certainly not of pink. Look, your hair is pink and I can easily just touch it and… and…"

"What are you doing?"

"Your hair. I didn't notice this back in the castle, but it's so... soft."

"Uhm, t-thanks?"

The word "thanks" wasn't the one she intended to say. It just flipped out of her as if she was actually enjoying how he was gently caressing it. No one has ever done this before. Not like _this_. She was trying hard to shake him off, but the truth was she didn't want him to stop. Not really. But eventually she managed to shake him off.

"That's *sigh* better."

"I'm… sorry. I got carried away. I don't even know why."

"Don't care." She tried to sarcastically cut him off, but her voice failed her. She sounded more like a scared little girl trying to face her deepest fears.

"Right. So, should we-"

Pony Head didn't wait for his question and she headed into the room like a bullet.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!"

Tom entered the room too, if a bit worried what he might find there. He didn't like that at all - he wasn't supposed to be worried. About anything. Ever. Yet when he was standing in this cozy room with that annoying flying head, he felt troubled.

The room itself didn't make him feel any better. It was, without exaggeration, the most perfect place he had ever seen. Everything in it was placed with meaning and with a specific function. The fire, the candles, the aroma, even the light that was mysteriously and smoothly moving along the walls - they were all creating an atmosphere that had a one, single purpose. And that purpose was slowly beginning to make itself apparent to each of them the longer they were standing there and breathing in the atmosphere.

They looked at each other without a single hint of troubling thoughts in their eyes.

"We need to get out!" yelled Pony Head who swiftly flew for the doors. But when she wanted to go past them, she stopped. She looked into the welcoming red light in the hallway. It was nice and warm, but lacked something. Lacked _someone_. So she went back a little and gently closed them. The lighting in the room dimmed down almost immediately. When she turned around and saw Tom standing there motionless, she knew exactly what was about to happen. She didn't like it, but she also didn't want to fight it.

And neither did Tom.

* * *

Janna wasn't known for having emotional outbursts. Most of the times her reactions were subtle, because her words hurt the most. But now she had every reason to gaze with open eyes and mouth into the most beautiful place she had the privilege of witnessing.

It was a magical shop. Those two words that popped up first in her mind after laying her sight on all the stuff displayed, hanging, levitating and flying around other stuff that could be seen only from a specific angle. But while it was magical, it wasn't tacky, nor joyful. Head, arms, other body parts, as well as cubes of various shapes, staffs, stars, bones and whatnot. For most people, such scenery would cause discomfort and urge to turn around and never look back.

Janna, however, was not like most people. This was like a candy shop for her. Every single enchanted or magical object that she had ever heard about was in here in perfect, working condition. This was strange enough on its own because, according to her knowledge, a good half of them shouldn't even exist anymore. The second half must have been hidden behind the first half - the room was messy without a trace of order.

"What is this place?" she asked silently. The room, while full of movement, was still and devoid of life, so she didn't expect any response.

"You don't know?"

"Uhm… Who, or what said that?"

From the far right corner, behind the pile of deformed toys, a glass ball rolled right through it. It kept rolling in her direction, until it stopped just few centimeters in front of her. Janna wasn't afraid one bit; she was intrigued. And it intensified when that glass ball suddenly opened an eye.

"You really don't recognize this place?"

"Nnnnno. Should I?"

The ball blinked from the sides. It was creepy as hell, but Janna still didn't show any emotion.

"Hmm. Yeah. It was quite a while ago."

"What are you talking about?"

The eyeball slowly and smoothly raised up to the level of her own eyes.

"I was forming your opinions."

"Is this supposed to help?"

"Opinions about _everything_." Its last word came from all directions, like a perfect surround sound experience.

"I still don't-"

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of something hitting the ground. Even though the whole room was a mess, the thing she was supposed to find was clearly visible; it stood out from the rest. Literally. The fact that it fell down and landed on its feet was reason enough for Janna to investigate it.

"What's this? Wait… No…"

As she slowly approached the object and its contours became more discernable, Janna started to recognize the thing from her past.

"It can't be…"

But it was. A deformed doll, burned, sewed, with body parts replaced by various items. When she picked it up it even made the same rattling sound. This couldn't be a coincidence.

"How…?"

"You still don't know where you are?"

Janna looked at room again, but this time through the eyes of a little 7 year old girl. What before looked like a messy collection of various stuff, now looked like a familiar place where all of her dreams came true.

"No - way."

"Welcome home, Janna."

"But how? That shed burned down years ago."

"Hell if I know. But does it matter?"

Janna was soaking in all the nostalgia around her.

"No," she replied softly.

"Aww, mighty Janna has soft spot after all."

"Don't you dare say a word to the others!"

"To who exactly?"

"My friends, duh."

"Oh, you mean like Star?"

"And what could she possibly do with this information?"

"I dunno. Probably something… girly."

"I think we both know who do you don't want to learn about this."

"I have no idea what are you talking about."

"Is that so?"

Its voice changed pitch in a way that made even her nervous. And not just anything could make her nervous. This feeling started to build up after a pile of stuff near dropped down and revealed a closet. A pure black closet that somehow managed to reflect barely any light. Of course, such objects normally wouldn't even phase Janna, but she had slowly started to conclude that perhaps this situation wasn't the kind unusual she prefered.

"LET ME OUT!"

The yelling voice coming out of the closet impaled her with shock.

"Marco?!"

She quickly opened the closet and Marco fell out out like bag of corn.

"Ouch!"

She helped him stand up.

"How the heck did you get there?"

"I have no idea. I was in the castle and went to your room to see you, but when I opened the doors, I ended up in a pitch black place."

"Wait, you were in the castle?"

"Yeah. Why do you sound so surprised?"

"But… That's not possible."

"Janna, you are freaking me out. And not in the usual sense of the word when it comes to you."

"Dude! Some crazy evil chick kidnapped you and we went to find you."

"What are you talking about? I was there the whole time!"

"No, you were not!"

"Is this one of your mind games? I told you before that I don't like them."

"This… doesn't make any sense."

"Are you feeling alright, dear?"

"What?!"

Janna started to slowly back away from him.

"What's the matter?" asked the eyeball. "Isn't this what you always wanted?"

"W-what?"

"Don't pretend as if it is not true. Deep down you always wanted to say something really sweet to Marco, but you were scared to death that it would ruin your look."

"No! That's not true!"

"No? Then why did you write all of those things in your notebook?"

"Those weren't…"

"Still in denial. Why are you doing this to yourself? I'm giving him to you on a silver platter. Just take him. You know you want to."

Marco raised his hand towards Janna.

"You coming?"

"I-"

* * *

Star's eyes landed on a grandiose dining room. Every single thing in it was ridiculously overdone, from the carpet beneath her feet, to the curtains on windows, to chairs behind the table and even table itself, to the chandelier hanging overhead. In contrast, Marco's regular red hoodie looked almost funny. The fireplace with neatly calm fire behind his back wasn't helping to improve his attire. But that wasn't what was puzzling Star.

"Marco?" she asked carefully. "Is that really you?"

Marco looked confused. "Who else am I supposed to be?"

"I don't know anymore."

"Please, sit down."

Star was unsure what to do, or think, so she listened and sat down.

"There. Isn't that much better?"

She didn't respond. Her mind was in full overdrive trying to process all of this.

"I must say you look great today."

Star remained silent and motionless like a statue, observing her surroundings without comprehension. The dining room was quite beautiful in its own weird way. The irony of this was that Marco somehow felt off despite this dreamy setting.

"If you would kindly look down at the table, you'll notice a handful of nachos I prepared for you."

Her head slowly turned down. He was right - nachos on a plate were waiting for her right under her nose. They looked exactly as tasty as she remembered them from back on Earth. Nonetheless, she couldn't smell anything. It was as if they weren't even there.

Her reluctance to dig in created a troublesome expression on Marco's face. "What's wrong? Are they not to your liking?"

Despite all of this, there was still one question that was burning deep inside of her, and she wanted an answer to it.

"Why?" she almost whispered it.

"Why what?"

"You did that… thing to my parents."

"I'm so sorry, Star. I didn't meant to hurt you."

"And when you tried to run away you said something about having a daughter. I-" Star never really faced the fallout of the incident and talking about it know, in front of Marco, made her fully realize just how much it had hurt her.

Marco froze for a second, as if unsure how to respond to this information.

"You know I wouldn't hurt you."

"No? Then why did you do it?" Her voice was starting to fail and the tears in her eyes were not far from from leaking out.

"I don't know."

"You don- _You don't know?!_ "

"What else do you want me to say?"

"I want an explanation! I want to know why. I need to know what is going on! Marco, we were planning our future together! I have even…"

"What?"

"It does not matter anymore." Star's face was now being covered by one tear after another.

"Oh Star, don't be like that. You know I'll alway be your best friend."

That answer made Star to stop sobbing almost instantly.

"You'll be my what now?"

"Your best friend. Always." He tried his best to say it with the most comforting tone he could create.

Star wiped her tears into her sleeves.

"Really?"

"Of course."

The reality of this situation was slowly crawling back into her mind.

"And what else?"

"And we will keep going on magical adventures, just like we always do."

"Uhm. That sounds great." Her voice was gaining back its confidence. "And perhaps when we are done with that, we could plan our wedding?"

It took him a while to respond. "We could visit those magical falls you once told me about."

"You know, I was talking to my mom if it would be okay if we had…" While she was talking to him, she was carefully reaching for her wand. "...a baby."

This time he didn't say anything. Instead, the surroundings went dead quite.

"You shouldn't ask me that."

Star jumped away from the table and brought out her wand, pointing it directly at his body. "HA! I knew you aren't Marco!"

"We could have been friends."

"I have friends, mister! Or whatever you are. Drop the charade and show me who you really are!"

Marco calmly stood up wearing a stoic, emotionless face. "But now I'll be your warden."

* * *

There they were, standing face to face in a room that was designed for a thing that should never happen between them. How they ended up in this situation was not a pressing matter at this time. The only thing mattered was that they _were_ there. Completely alone, without a living soul anywhere near them. And while it was scary, it was also sort of desireable.

Like moths reaching for a little flame in the night, they were casually shortening the gap between them. With each taken step, the internal voice kept screaming more and more. But it was always silenced by the need for these feelings of closeness. They were something they both lacked for so long, and always kept lying to themselves that they didn't need. They each saw themselves as strong and independent, because people expected them to be so.

But here, in this place, there was no one present to judge them. No one to be their voice of reason to tell them that what are they were planning to do was wrong on levels that shouldn't be even possible. No one and nothing to stop them. Just he and she in probably the most romantic place ever created. And when they finally stopped just a breath away, they looked into each other's eyes…

...and saw nothing. Just an empty holes staring back at them, without a single trace of feelings they were so sure to find them there. That made them unsure how to proceed. Or if they even should proceed.

The first one to break the heavy silence was Pony Head. "You want to do this?" She didn't sound very thrilling about the idea of this situation taking its intended course.

"And you?" replied Tom carefully.

"I asked first."

Slowly, but surely their rational senses were awakening from deep slumber. Even though still groggy, they were hitting the emergency brakes as much as they were able.

Pony slightly moved away from him, while closely watching his reaction. There was none.

"Is that a no?" he asked.

"I dunno."

Tom made one step back to see her reaction. He wasn't sure, but it looked like she was frowning.

"So we're cool?"

"I know that I hate you."

"Oh good grief! For a moment there I thought I was going to… uhm… well, you know… to ma-"

"If you will finish that thought I will hurt you."

Tom had nothing else to add and Pony didn't feel like talking at all, so an awkward silence encompassed them. And it was getting heavier by the second. If there was one thing she hated the most, it was awkward silences.

"Yeah, I don't like it here anymore. Let's scram."

"Good idea."

They didn't even manage to reach the doors when the lights went pooff and eternal darkness surrounded their senses.

" _Where do you think you are going?"_

The room was there for them to enjoy in private, but since they didn't want that anymore, the room's purpose changed along with their change of hearts.

A pair of sinister dark orange eyes were impaling them from the other side. Their intensity was so great that even Tom had trouble keeping eye contact.

" _You came here to have fun. Well, I still want that fun. On_ _ **your**_ _account."_

Where there are eyes there should also be a mouth. Following this logic, one did indeed open just below the eyes. But it was not a mouth as much as it was a grinder. A loud, hungry grinder that started to move towards them.

They were trapped inside of a grindhouse.

* * *

Janna's nerves were slowly, but surely kicking into overdrive. Not only did someone, or rather something, know about her deeply personal secrets, but it was giving her a chance to make one of those secrets a reality. But what kind of reality would that be?

"Janna, why do you hesitate? You can't hide from your own desires. Just let them free."

There he was: completely at her mercy, with no sign of suspicion. And since this is Janna, she did exactly what anyone who knows her would have expected her to do; she shoved him back into the closet and slammed the doors.

The eyeball got restless with this sudden demonstration of unplesentary.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, right. I forgot." Janna quickly looked around, until she spotted a cute little doll. She picked it up and looked closely into its eyes. "Perfect!"

"Janna, that is-" The flying entity wanted to object to Janna's now obvious plan, knowing very well what that doll was used for. But she wouldn't listen.

She opened the closet, just enough to cram the doll inside.

"Janna, let me out!" screamed Marco.

But the crazy girl wasn't interested in letting him out.

"Here!" she gave him the doll. Marco automatically grasped it in his hands without even questioning what it was. "Hold her up."

Not five seconds after she closed it again, Marco started to scream from pure fear.

"Hehe, that thing actually works. I always wanted to show him that."

When the eyeball spoke again, it wasn't angry, or scared. Its voice is was dead cold, stripped of all emotions.

"Your diary…"

"My diary had only random thoughts that crossed my mind. I never wanted to date him. Besides, I spent more time with him than he did with Jackie. And he didn't even know it."

"You lied."

"No, you read my diary wrong. And by the way, how did you get ahold of it?"

"I don't like lying people. In fact…" It raised almost to the top of the room, while firmly closing the doors behind. "...I HATE THEM!"

Star's plan was to stand her ground if for no other reason else then to contain all of the anger that was seeping out of her, even though she now knew that whoever this was _wasn't_ Marco. His face and his voice were enough for her, though. His doppelganger's fury overshadowed her anger by far, so when she moved the entire table to the side, she did take a step back.

"You. Ungrateful. Little."

The princess didn't want to risk her own skin, considering that his rage was steadily growing to horrifying proportions, so she brought out her wand and directed it against him.

"I don't know what you are and I don't care. Where is Marco?!"

The strange being wasn't very happy seeing this object anywhere near him.

"That thing! You're one of them!"

"The one kicking your butt? You bet I am. Now tell me where Marco is!"

"My mom had one. And she left me alone in here!"

Star's wand began to violently glow.

"I'm not going to ask you again! Tell me where he is!"

"I won't allow you to hurt me!"

"Wrong answer! NARWHAL BLAST!"

* * *

Janna was realizing that perhaps this flying thing really did not like being lied to. She came to this conclusion after observing an army of things raising up for the purpose of what seemed like chopping her body into pieces.

"NO ONE WILL LIE TO ME!"

"I didn't lie to you! You're just too stupid to read diaries!"

"SILENCE! I SHALL ENJOY YOUR SUFFERING!"

"Sheesh! Isn't that a bit overdramatic?"

Be them dolls or totally artificial objects like scissors, everything was marching towards her with the desire to turn her into a salad. A really bloody salad.

That is until something decided to crash the party. Literally.

A body in a red hoodie together with a bunch of cute, but otherwise dangerous narwhals came busting in through the wall as if it were made of paper and landed on the army of bloodthirsty objects. But perhaps the most dangerous thing entered through the rubble after it.

"Star?!"

"Oh, hey Janna."

It was only after the whole situation calmed down a little she noticed that the flying eyeball was gone, as well as the black closet. The new item in the room was a body that was remarkably reminiscent of Marco.

"Ouch!"

It even sounded like Marco.

"Is that… Marco?"

"No," quickly and sharply replied Star.

"But… He looks… And before he was…"

Janna, of all people, was actually confused by something. And not only that, she allowed others to see it.

Star grabbed her by collar. "Listen, that isn't Marco!" After she let her go, she started to stare at the mess his body landed into. "I'm not sure what that thing is," she continued, "but I'm getting answers."

Star looked at Janna for only a second, but even that was enough of time for Marco to disappear from the scene. He had to have been really sneaky too, since both girls heard nothing. Nothing except…

"You heard that?" whispered Janna.

"Yeah," answered Star with an muffled whisper.

"It sounds like he's moving inside the walls."

"It seems so."

"But how?"

Star looked at her with surprise. "Are you asking me? You are suppose to be expert on this weird stuff."

"Not _this much_ weird."

"Wait! Shhh!" Star put a finger on her lips to make her stop talking.

"?!"

By pointing to her ears and then to the walls she suggested to listen. Both were trying to identify the source of the moving sound. Except now all sounds stopped. They looked in front of them, on the left, on the right and with some hesitation even behind them. Even though it seemed illogical, bellow them as well. With mimical gestures that could understand only girls in dire need, Janna asked Star if she thinks he left, to which Star replied possibly yes.

That possibility, however, shrunk to zero when they heard a silent scratching directly above their heads. They turned their heads up and what they found forever changed their opinion on red hoodies.

* * *

The grinding face have just shredded the whole bed into tiny pieces without even slowing down. Tom tried to blast it, but his fireballs vanished inside the mouth. Since destroying it by conventional means didn't work, Tom presented to Pony Head his plan B.

"Maybe if we had-"

"If you'll touch me, I'll kill you before that thing gets here."

The demon boy looked at the approaching certain death and compared it with a feisty flying Pony Head.

"I'll take my chances."

"WHAT?!"

He didn't get his chance to carry out his plan to save both of them, because just when he reached out for her, a massive blast threw them away. After the dust had settled, they looked up and saw a hardly identifiable moving object with countless tentantacles trying to snatch something.

"What the heck is that?!" yelled Pony Head.

"Pony Head?"

"Star?"

Only now they noticed a hole in the floor through which that thing came. Her friend's voice was coming from down below.

"Come down!"

"Are you crazy, girl?! There is a… slimy tentacle thing squirming around!"

"I stunned him with my magic! He won't hurt you!"

"No way!"

"Are you scared?"

"Of course not! I just don't want to die!"

Out of nowhere, a pair of hands tightly grabbed her.

"Hey!"

"You'll thank me later," said Tom and with pony in his possession he jumped to the hole.

Pony landed harshly on the ground, while Tom remained hanging by his foot from the roof.

"What's happening, Tom?" asked Star.

"This thing… It latched one of its tentacles around my ankle!"

"Shake it off!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do?! Argh! That does it!"

He raised himself back up into the room.

"Tom!"

No answer came back. Instead, flashes of light were illuminating the walls of a now destroyed room. Once they have stopped, the smell of a burning fish descended, along with angry Tom. All three girls were gazing at him with open mouths.

"What?!" He pointed to the hole. "Fish." Then he revealed his burning fist. "Fire." And finally he took a deep breath. "Toasted. Can we go now? Fishes aren't one of my favorite foods."

"Uhm…" Star tried to muster up some manner of comprehensible response. "Sure. Yes, we should definitely go."

"What was that thing anyway?"

Pony Head jumped between them.

"Who cares?! Let's get out of here!"

Without further adieu, the whole gang started to run away through the hallway they came in through. They were almost out, when Star suddenly stopped.

"Wait!"

"What is it?" asked Janna.

"I think I saw something."

"We don't have time for this, B-Fly!"

Star went back little. On a wardrobe just next to the stairs, there was a framed picture. Star took it into her hands and closely inspected it.

"Unbelievable."

She took the family picture out and turned it around. They all noticed how she started to shake a little after that.

"What's the matter, Star?" asked Tom.

"There is a text here. It say 'Eclipsa and Jack'".

"Wait. Do you mean to tell me that… That thing is…"

Star opened her mouth to answer, but a massive tremor interrupted her.

"Okay guys," stated Janna, "the museum is closing. We need to get out. Pronto!"

Just in case her voice wasn't urgent enough, pieces of the house were starting to fall down on their heads. Nothing could possibly possess them to remain there any longer, so, as quickly as they could, they left the house, just before it crumbled down. What raised up from its ruins was not Marco, or a nightmarish thing with slimy tentacles.

Star recognized the figure standing tall above them with menacing look in its face.

"Jack?!"

"You wanted to abandon me! Everyone does!"

Everyone was scared, even Tom to a degree. But not Star. Her patience was reaching its limit.

"Where is Marco, Jack?"

Her question didn't seem to bother him at all. His fury was consuming all his thoughts.

"I'll make you my friends!"

Star was capable of scary things if she really wanted to get something. Or in this case someone. Moon knew that, River knew that as well, and right now her friends were also about to learn it.

A thick, bright purple stream swished right next to Jack's head. She was aiming her wand just few centimeters on the right. After she got his attention, she aimed her wand directly at his head.

"WHERE IS MARCO?!"

Her voice speared right through the thick fog of the forest. Nobody had the courage to speak up, or even to make a single move. Suddenly the source of the fear was not a gigantic, monstrous creature, but a small, young princess fiercely trying to find what was stolen from her.

"You better give me an answer, or I'll drill this through your head!"

It was apparent that Jack felt conflicted about this new and unexpected outcome. After all, he had the advantage here: he was huge, menacing and on home ground. She, however, did not seem to care one bit. No one ever tried to stand against him. And he never heard voice so much demanding an answer.

"3!"

Jack started to look at trio of friends looking for clues what to do now. The only thing he found were three pairs of petrified eyes.

"2!"

His own eyes were starting to show the exact same emotion. It was obvious that this crazy girl meant business.

"1!"

"OK! I'll tell you! No shooting, please!"

He stepped outside of what used to be a house and shrank down to his regular size. That made him about head shorter than Star. This situation would certainly have been funny for Pony Head if it wasn't for the crippling fear still hanging in the air.

"Well? I'm listening!"

Even though Jack wasn't a threat anymore and it seemed obvious that he didn't intend to run away, Star's dedication to learn the truth didn't allow her to ease up on him.

"W-Well, he… I-"

"Spill it out!"

"I don't know where he is! Please, don't hurt me!"

"How can you not know? You looked like him!"

"I only looked into your heart to search for your desires."

"You played with us?!"

"I just wanted you to stay with me, so I wouldn't be alone anymore. Eclipsa left me here for over 300 hundreds of years and after she returned, she left me again. I really do _not_ like being alone."

His answers felt sincere, which finally made Star to ease up a little.

"Is Eclipsa," she started as calmly as she could, "your mother?"

"No. But she took care of me."

"Listen. She took my… friend away from me. Could you show us where she went?"

"Do you want to hurt her?"

Star hesitated for a second. "No. I just want my friend back."

"Okay then, I'll show. It is there." Jack pointed with his finger a glowing object not far from their current position.

They all looked that way and they were all surprised by what they saw.

"Huh?" wondered Pony. "How did it get there?"

"It was always there. I just quickly built the house to keep you from discovering it."

"To keep us with you," repeated Star.

"Yes," replied boy with sad face.

It was only now when she finally lost all the anger that was burning inside her for several hours.

"Hey." She kneeled down. "I understand that you wanted to have someone to talk to."

"Really?"

"Of course. I'm an only child. I never had any siblings to play with. But I had great friends that took their place."

"Oh."

"Look, right now I have to go away from here."

"For your friend."

"Correct. But I promise you that once I'll find him, we will all return here and we can become new friends."

"Say what?!" shrieked out Pony Head.

Star gave her a piercing glare.

"Oh yeah, sure, friends, big ones too, lots of fun, yeah, yeah."

"See? Even Pony is happy to become your friend. She will even allow you ride on her."

"Really?" His eyes were glowing from happiness.

Pony was wise enough to not comment again.

"Sure! She would love that."

"Well… I guess I can wait for you."

"Good boy." Star stood up and turned to her friends. "Guys, it's time."

"Time for what?" wondered Pony. "To die?"

"You have no faith at all. Things will work out in the end, just come."

The Well was indeed close. It took them only a minute to reach it. All the dark purple fog was originating from within it. Upon closer inspection it almost looked like a soup. A sticky, cold, blueberry soup.

"Do we really need to go in?" asked Pony Head.

Star was in no mood to reply, so instead she just jumped in and disappeared inside it.

"It smells funny in here," noted Tom. "I wonder what's on the other side." After his observation he followed Star.

Janna was looking at Pony Head for a while, not saying a single word.

"What?!"

"I'm just trying to remember your face in case I won't see you again."

"Why would y-" But she didn't have the chance to finish her sentence, because right after that Janna went in.

Pony Head remained alone in a place where normal people don't want to stay alone.

"I swear, her eagerness will kill me one day."

Even though she was reluctant, she had no choice, but to follow them through.

 **Chapter 16 was written by Terepin.**


	17. Darkness, Part 2 - Trials and Terrors

There are lands stripped of any and all life and vegetation; vast wastelands devoid of the comforting color provided by grass beneath one's feet. There are natural landscapes dotted modestly with bushes and trees; places habitable and perhaps homey. Then, there are dark and thick forests; places as infamous and unnerving as Mewni's own Forest of Certain Death. Having faced many such places as these, there is a sense of comfort in knowing that you understand the terrors that await you out in the wild. But all of that knowledge could not have prepared them for what they were looking at right now. They didn't think such a thing could even exist: a place more horrifying than the Forest. And yet, here they were.

Star, Pony Head, Janna, and Tom paced forward ever so slowly, each looking through the trees which were arbitrarily strewn about and proceeded into the darkness, going on seemingly without end. None of them could squeeze out a single syllable. There wasn't a word or phrase that could capture the essence of this place. It wasn't the forest itself that caught them off guard; the place actually looked like an ordinary forest would anywhere else in the world. What was really unnerving was the feelings of dread inexplicably trickling down their spines. Logic dictates that roaming woods at night in storm is what pushes one's fears to their limit. But now they learned that the perfectly calm scenery has not only the same effect, but rather perhaps an even greater impact on their psyches. The stillness of lurking death hung over every inch of their surroundings.

"Uhm, maybe we should go back," said Pony Head with a shivering voice.

Star didn't want to admit it, but the thought did cross her mind. "No. I came her for Marco and I'm not going back without him."

"Girl, all of us might not make it back! This place is making me nervous. I don't like being nervous! It's ruining my beautiful young skin."

Star turned to Pony Head. "Are we friends, Pony?"

"Wha?"

"Are we still friends?"

"Yeah. Yes, of course."

"Then as a friend I'm asking you to help me find him."

"I would love to, but-"

"I love him. You might not know how it feels, but I can't lose him. I was so close to-" Star suddenly silenced her voice, revealing a faint tear in her eye.

"What's wrong, Star?" asked Tom.

After a few seconds she shook her head and wiped away the tear. She had a reputation to uphold - a rebel princess. And people like her don't cry; they take action first, and do whatever reckless things they have to, consequences be damned. She raised her body confidently to convince herself and the others that she wouldn't turn back for anything. "I wanted to propose to him."

The biggest reaction came, as usual, from Pony Head. "You whaaaaaaa?!"

Tom was more calm, although not necessarily stoic. "Don't you think that is a bit much?"

"I had a ring prepared."

"A ring?" wonderred Tom. "What for?"

"It's a custom on Earth. You are supposed to give a ring to the person you wish to spend the rest of your life with."

She pulled a tiny black box out of her pocket. When she opened it they could see a small ring with several small, shiny rocks.

Pony Head studied it with great disappointment. "This looks underwhelming." She turned to Janna. "Is this really how you humans handle this kinda stuff?"

"Oh yes," she agreed. She came closer to Star to patted her on her shoulder. "You should definitely give _him_ the ring. He'll be thrilled."

Janna smiled at her, which would normally make Star question her motives, but right now she was too worried about missing the opportunity of her lifetime.

"But we need to find him first, and in one piece."

"Maybe we can be of assistance."

They all got so caught up in their discussions that they forgot the place surrounding them. The crippling anxiety settled back into their minds and this time it manifested itself into a voice. It was no longer a mere feeling haunting their thoughts.

"Who said that?!" Pony Head shivered. She was furiously searching for the source of the voice, but all she could see were trees. "Wait a minute." There really were a _lot_ of trees. "Were there so many trees before?"

Tom was also worried, though he wasn't panicking. "I don't think so. Something is afoot here."

"Afoot? That's a funny sounding word."

The sound of a new voice was crystal clear and apparently coming from somewhere right by them. But none of them could find the source.

Star raised her wand into the air and it started to glow. "Show yourself!"

"Whoa there, young lady! No need to get violent. I'm right here."

All of them were trying to figure out where that "here" was, fruitlessly.

"Behind you."

All together they immediately spun around and saw… a tree.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" asked Pony Head.

"No joke, floating grasshopper, I can assure you."

She looked at Star, then at Tom. They both had the same expression on their faces.

"You both heard it, right? It came from the tree, right? I'm not going crazy, right?"

"Indeed." The tree in question popped out two googly eyes and what appeared to be a mouth. It now had a face. Not one that seemed to display a wide variety of emotions, but a face nonetheless. It was curiously viewing the little figures standing in front of it. All of them were in shock, except for one. "How come you're so content?"

Janna could barely hold her excitement. "A talking tree!"

"Yes, that's a simple way to put it. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is-"

"E-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e…"

The tree suspiciously looked down at Star, whose lips were erratically closing and opening in attempt to release a comprehensible word. "No, young one, that is not my name. My name is-"

"E-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e…"

"Hmm. You know, others might have found this rude. It's not nice to interrupt others while they talk."

"E-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e…"

"Oh boy."

"E-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-eeeent!"

That caught the tree by surprise. "You know our species? Interesting. I assumed we were just part of Mewni myths and legends now."

Janna's excitement grew even stronger. "You're one of those slowly walking, slowly talking trees!"

"Hmpf! I'm surely not slow in any of those disciplines."

"Do you have two small people hidden up in your crown?"

"Little people? Like you?"

"Uhm."

"Talking really fast?"

"You have them! I knew it!"

"No, I don't. Sorry."

"Oh. A white wizard then?"

"I'm afraid the answer is still no. But there is a witch living not far away."

"A witch, you say? Hmm. Wait! Star! Did you hear it? A witch. That has to be Eclipsa!"

But her royal friend wasn't paying any attention to her. Nor was Pony Head or Tom. They were all fixed on that talking tree towering high above them.

"ENT!"

"What's got into you?! We are talking to a tree. And it actually talks back!"

"ENT!"

The fear in Star's eyes was palpable. And it wasn't only her that was shaking from the creature before their eyes. All of them were scared to death. Janna couldn't understand why.

"Oh yes," reacted the tree. "I can explain it. This is a result of a rather sad history I'm afraid. Back then our race was known for killing mewmans."

After it laid down the info, Janna began to question if it was wise to stand so close to a being that basically admitted its ancestors were killing machines..

"In massive amounts."

Yep, definitely a bad idea.

"For their juices."

Everyone took a step back. They were starting to feel like a school of fish circling trepidatiously around a shark, afraid to make a break for it.

The tree laughed. "But that is ancient history! We've changed! We're now just peacefully roaming the woods, seeking companionship and good conversation. You don't need to worry about me. Or us."

Star held her breath. "U-Us?!" She slowly turned her head. There were dozens of ents just standing by and staring at them.

"As I said, we're not soaking in Mewman blood anymore."

Even though Tom always presented himself as a wall of confidence, even he couldn't completely mask the unnerved feeling in his chest. "How the heck are you even here?" he asked, hoping his voice wasn't cracking up. "You were wiped out centuries ago!"

"Ah yes, that 'unfortunate event'. No, we weren't wiped out. You see, when my ancestors saw that the cost of hunting Mewmans was too high, they simply went into hiding."

"Hiding?"

"Of course! You can't tell a simple tree apart from an actual ent, now can you?"

This realization was something he did not want to know. None of them for that matter found this news particularly comforting.

"So you're not going to, uhm, drink our juices?" she asked.

"Oh no, nothing like that. As I said, we stopped doing that a long time ago."

Even though she was still frightened, her curiosity was getting stronger each second and her fear was getting a bit weaker.

"So we're cool then?"

"Yeah, about that…"

She noticed that the other ents starting to come closer.

"Look, personally, I find you interesting and under normal circumstances we could even be friends. However…" the creature's leaves started to line up. "That being said, we're under the watchful eye of the witch and she gave us exact and strict instructions for what to do in case anyone were to come through here."

"And what would that be?" Janna didn't really know why she asked that, as the outcome was obvious to pretty much to everyone at that point.

The ent raised its bough into the air. "To smash them." It swiftly swung directly at her with intent to cut her in half. After it hit the ground, a cloud of dust kicked up, obscuring the view at the point of impact. When it lifted back up, the dust swirled along with it. But where it expected to find Janna's chopped body was only a mark on the ground from its leaves. The ent was visibly surprised. "What the- Where did you go?" It didn't take long for it to find her laying on ground. But it also noticed something else - a colorful glow in the opposite direction.

Star was firmly holding her wand, which was now pointing directly at the perplexed ent.

"Why would you do that?! I explained to you the reason why we need to do that!"

"Are you serious right now?"

"Of course I am! This is not a joking matter. We simply need to kill you. But it's nothing personal."

"Is that suppose to make it better?"

"Well, yes, I was hoping that a reasonable explanation would be sufficient and that you'd be content with being killed."

While fear was driving her impulses before, now it was anger with a pint of confusion. "Oh you-"

"STAR, WATCH OUT!" Tom pushed her away just in time before being hit by another ent that sneaked up on her from behind. Unfortunately for him it didn't plan to stop just because she wasn't there; he was as good target as any. He noticed it just a second before it hit him. Being a half demon helped him to stop the ent, but nothing else beyond that.

As Star hit the ground, she could only hear the branch smashing the place from which Tom pushed her away. "TOM!" she yelled instinctively. She saw him pushing back the ent, which bought her some time to take a stance, point her wand and…

Tom was using all his strength to stop the bough from splitting him in two. He pondered how he might be able to use Star's magic to his advantage in their situation, but was interrupted abruptly. The ent didn't have just one branch, and there wasn't just one ent.

Star witnessed as another extremity came from out of the blue and took a swing at her friend which sent him barreling way deeper into the dark forest, where there were assured to be more ents waiting for him. "Tom, no!" Both anger and sadness were fueling her drive to go there and pick him up.

Amidst all the mess, Pony Head, unsurprisingly, was actually having fun.

Up. "Ha, missed me!"

Down. "No no."

Left. "Heh, nope."

And right. "Oh come on! You didn't even try to hit me."

No matter how dangerous the situation was, Pony was always on top of things. While others might have been worrying about their precious lives, she tried to make the best out of it. However, just like everyone and everything, there is a limit. And her situation was escalating to a point where she could no longer deny the very real danger of losing her life.

Several branches reached out to her and, she had just narrowly managed to avoid them all at once. "Whoa there, fellas! I know you like what you see, but this girl ain't ready for a serious commitment; don't get too attached."

They didn't seem to get the memo. One-two-three-four-miss. Six-seven-eight-bullseye.

"HEY! Let me go!" Pony Head was trying hard to break free, but the ent's grip was too tight. However sound her reasoning may have been, the ent that was successful in capturing her didn't seem to care. The only thing it was interested in was the tasty juice coursing through her veins. "Uhm, Star? Little help here!"

Even though Tom was so easily snatched away just before her eyes, Star couldn't afford to hesitate, unless she wanted herself and the others to fall prey too. And Pony Head was quite close to it, as she was being squeezed into a bloody cocktail. Ent, or no ent, she had to try something. She raised her wand and took aim at the creature's largest limb.

"Rainbow Fist Punch!"

The impact of the spell wouldn't be able to damage the ent, or break through the bough, but it was able to create enough of a recoil to loosen its grip, allowing Pony Head to break free.

"Finally. Now let's scram!"

More ents were gathering to their position. A feast awaited them.

"We need to go after Tom," suggested Star.

"He can take care of himself. We need to go. NOW!"

"Uhm, guys?"

Janna, although visibly shaken by the display of violence, fortunately did not have a single scratch on her. She was pointing to the place from which they came through. Pony Head couldn't believe her own eyes.

"What the…?! The Well!"

"It's gone," added Star.

"No. No no no no nooooooo!"

While the two were focused on lamenting what used to be their escape route, Janna was nervously observing the approach of a dozen more ents from the thick black woods. She tapped on Star's shoulders to get her attention and pointed toward imminent death.

Even though ents have a very limited palette of emotions, one could hear an eerie excitement in its voice. "We are coming. We are hungry."

The loss of both Tom and The Well pissed Star off. She had had enough and set out to take charge of the situation.

"Alright, we are leaving NOW. Summoning Cloudy Charm!" A happy pink cloud poofed up in front of the girls. "Exit, straight up." They all jumped on with great haste, and, without further delay, Star took it up into the air and hit turbo.

The wind blasted toward them at an incredibly high speed, blowing back hair and pressing against their skin. They were moving so fast, that it started to feel like they were in a wind tunnel, and it was actually getting difficult to breathe.

"Slow- Down!" Pony Head was trying to yell.

"They're on- onto us!" replied Star.

"We- Need to go up, not- Not faster!"

Janna was instinctively clutching her chest while desperately trying to fill her lungs with air. As Cloudy reached a safe altitude and decelerated to a more manageable pace, inhaling became manageable again. "Finally, I _huff_ m-missed oxygen."

"So what about Tom?" asked Janna.

"I don't know if we're going to be able to go back for him" replied Star.

"Say what?"

"Well, I don't even know where we are anymore. And he should be able to handle himself without having to worry about us, right?"

Janna sighed. "I guess we don't have much of a choice."

Janna was actually a little surprised by the decision given Star's heartful nature and general unwillingness to hurt even a bunny. Unless, of course, that bunny was two stores tall and wanted to impale her with giant carrots. Nonetheless, she was reminded of their situation quickly when a visible explosion happened some distance away deeper within the forest.

"Right," she concluded. "So what's the plan, Star?"

"We pay the witch a visit."

"Not that I complain about kicking someone's ass, but we just barely made it out of there alive. What makes you think we will stand a chance against Eclipsa?" asked Pony Head.

The looks on Star's and Janna's faces suggested that perhaps this wasn't the reaction they expected from her.

"Do you feel alright?" asked Janna suspisciously.

"Yeah," Star concurred. "You always enjoy, uhm, solving problems your own way."

"I do. But do you know what I enjoy even more? Living. And I'm sorry to say, B-Fly, but if your magic didn't put a dent in them, what is it going to do against Eclipsa?"

"We will cross that bridge when get there. Now, get ready, because we are getting close."

"How do you know?"

She turned Pony Head around and pointed to the imposing manor, neatly placed between the trees.

"Oh."

Janna had her doubts, though. "What makes you think she's in there?"

"Look around you, Janna. Nothing but thick forest as far as the eye can see. And out of nowhere a big, fancy-looking house in perfect shape? No, she's in there. I can feel it. Cloudy! Onwards!"

"It could be a pretty obvious trap though," she replied.

"Maybe it is, but I'd rather check the trap than go back into the woods. Let's just go."

The fluffy little cloud was more than happy to oblige and brought them right to the front doors. Along the way, Star noticed unusual objects along the ground, holding her attention for a moment. Janna turned her attention downward as well when she Star focusing her attention.

"What's that?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. I'll take us down at the outskirts of the forest, just to be safe. After all, this is a rescue mission, not a suicide mission. Anyway, we'll go on foot from here and if those things we saw from above turn out to be harmless, then we'll just swoop in." She tried to sound confident about the whole situation, but deep down she doubted this would be anything but unsafe.

The moment they set foot outside the forest, she realized that she was, unfortunately, correct. From above they all looked like weird looking spikes or something akin to it. But upon closer inspection she knew exactly what they were, as did Pony Head.

They both froze in place, completely locked in what could be described only as a sudden acceptance of sudden death. Janna, of course, was oblivious to the whole situation.

"What are tho- _mmphd_ -" She wanted to ask them about the strange objects, but Star covered her mouth with a near-lightning reflex to silence her.

"Shhhhhhh! Do NOT make any loud noises!" She then slowly and carefully took her hand down, as if Janna's head would explode otherwise.

"Why?" she whispered. "They look harmless."

Indeed. All that was visible were cones. Lots of cones, spreading for tens of meters in every direction between them and the manor. The most fascinating thing about them was their color - it was changing! Looking almost like a lava lamp, the colors were slowly, but smoothly transitioning from one to another, creating a mesmerizing scene before them. The source of Janna's confusion was between that view and the worried faces of her friends. She knew something about this situation was bad news.

"Those things are actually the heads of Rainbow Gnomes." Janna's unchanged confusion suggested that perhaps this wasn't the explanation she was looking for. "The reason," Star continued explaining, "for their name is not because they make rainbows. At least not the kind of rainbows you think. Their name stems from their hobby of digging eyes."

"So? They like eyes?" Her eyebrows furrowed quizocaly.

"I meant it literally: they dig out the eyes of their victims."

It took her a moment to process this information. "What is wrong with your kingdom?!"

Star took her remark a bit personally. "Hey, we thought they were extinct!"

"Oh, you mean like those ents back there?"

"Quiet you two!" Pony's voice, even though surprisingly silent, was intense enough to make them both stop talking. "Look."

A few of the gnomes were beginning to react to their 'subtle' bickering by deeping in saturation and increasing the speed of their cones' shifting colors. All three of them stopped breathing until the cones dimmed back down.

"We need to go back!" Pony declared resolutely.

"Back to where, Pony?" asked Star. "The Well is gone and I'm sure the ents didn't forget about us."

"But-"

"Look, we're close now. All we have to do is to cross this field."

"You do realize that this field can kill us?"

"When did the threat of death ever stop us before?" she smiled.

"Good point."

"So how do we proceed?" asked Janna.

"On foot," replied Star. "I can't use magic in here. They feed on it. So we'll need to be stealthy. Like a mouse."

"Couldn't we just fly over with Pony's help like before?"

"No, because my back still hurts from trying to keep your fat butt alive." responded Pony.

Star looked at the manor a short distance away. "Alright. Let's do this. Stay behind me, follow my steps and do not, under any circumstance, touch those things."

Pony Head looked at Star triumphantly. "Or you can just fly over, like this." Full of confidence and swelling with a bit of pride, she began to fly in and… was immediately pulled back in.

"Hey!"

"Shhhhh!" Star and Janna shushed her desperately and pointed to the few cones she was about to fly over. They were lighting up and seemingly beginning to stir. "You almost woke them."

"Nonsense! I was nowhere near them!"

"No, but… You know, your… That is, it is your…"

"My what? Speak up, girl!"

What Star found awkward to talk about, Janna had no problem being painfully direct. "It's the sparkles coming out of your butt." It was uncertain who of those two felt more uncomfortable by her comment.

"What did you just say?!"

"Pony-"

"No Star! She made a comment about my butt. No one makes comment about my butt!"

Star covered Pony Head's mouth again and tried to stop her from being riled up again. "Listen, Janna is right. These creatures are extremely sensitive to any kind of magic. And you're flying thanks to magic. I'm sorry to say this, but… Janna will have to carry you."

Pony knew she wouldn't be able to reply calmly, so she conjured her emotional reaction through her expression. It was uncertain what she was more bothered by, the fact that she would have to be carried around by somebody, or the fact that Janna would be the one doing it.

"Look, it is the only way. We have to get into the manor and with you sparkling around… Well…"

She could see defeat creeping up into Pony Head's eyes, but before she finally gave in, she asked this: "Why don't _you_ carry me?"

"Because…" she reached for her wand, "I have to carry this."

"Didn't you just say we can't use magic?"

"I'll just have my wand at the ready in case of an emergency."

"Do you really think it will help us?"

Star didn't respond and just silently turned around, now facing the manor. Pony Head of course knew why and she also knew that talking her out of it would be pointless. She looked at Janna and sighed. "You'd better not ruin my hair."

With Pony Head being locked safely in Janna's hands, Star could now focus on staying alive while trying to get across the garden of death. She took the first careful step between the sleeping gnomes in hopes that she wouldn't disturb them. And she didn't; there wasn't a single reaction from any of them. Encouraged by her initial success, she took the second step. No reaction whatsoever. Maybe, she thought, this wouldn't be so hard.

"Janna, how are you?"

"Following you."

"Do the gnomes around you react to you?"

"Not that I can see."

"Great."

 _Step - step - step - stop. Step - step - step - stop. Step - step - step - stop._ Rinse and repeat. Centimeter by centimeter, she was carefully picking the right spots to move to, getting closer to the manor - to Marco. After a while, this dangerous task became like second nature to her. None of the gnomes ever did anything to suggest that they were aware of their presence. They were sleeping, buried inside the ground, with their cones remaining calm. Right or left, direct or by sides, her goal was getting closer.

Perhaps it was the suspiciously easy progress that should have alerted any of the girls, but it started to seem fishy once they had reached the center of the rainbow gnome-minefield. It was a bit pessimistic, but there was something unnerving about making it through this situation without a hitch. These thoughts were running through Star's head when they all began to hear new sounds. What could be heard was a strange mixture of sounds. Like that of grinding and of a yawning baby. It was unnerving and made her realize that maybe the reason why this felt like a walk in the park was because the gnomes were simply allowing them to pass.

It _was_ a trap.

In the middle of the field, they froze stiff hearing one of the gnomes waking up. And then the footsteps. Barely audible, almost harrowingly so, and clearly approaching from behind. None of them dared to move. Not even a breath escaped their lips. They couldn't even dare to look back and check if it was really one of the gnomes. They just stood there, locked in fear, hoping the sounds would just go away.

Tap-tap, tap-tap, tap-tap, tap. It stopped moving. And then…

"Hello!"

Reluctantly, Star looked down. Nothing could prepare her for the thing that she saw with her own eyes. Young, healthy, tasty eyes. She was the first Mewman in ages to see a living and breathing Rainbow Gnome. The cone now had this mellow, almost dreamlike quality to it and the creature wearing it was disproportionately small and kind of cute.

"Hi there!" Star covered her mouth in shock.

"B-fly, are you crazy?!" said Pony Head from behind her back. "Stop talking to it!"

The little fella didn't seem to mind Pony's comment. "Did you come here for a visit?"

It was as if his voice was forcing her to respond in similarly adorable fashion. "I came here to find a friend."

"Star, snap out of it!"

"I- Can't- Help it-" Star's voice was now different. It was smooth, tender, almost fluffy. As was her face. And when that happens, one's eyes are gazing intensely with affection.

The little creature was eager to see that. Motivated by hunger, it pushed forward for the last step. "Would you like a hug?"

Maybe there was some voice of reason inside Star's head to tell her to stop. But it was lost among the voices telling her to embrace the cute little gnome. Seconds ago she wanted to turn over and bring up her wand to blast the vile creature away, but now she wanted heartfully to scoop the little thing up in a big hug.

She leaned toward him, opening her arms. "Aww!" The gnome had begun to bear its sharp teeth and was ready to scoop out Star's eyes.

"Ouch!"

Star stopped immediately, jolting back with pain. Pony Head poked her horn at Star to break her out of the trance.

Because she had completely lost touch with reality, her reaction was loud. Really loud. "PONY, WHAT THE HECK?!" she yelled loudly.

Pony Head felt her blood run cold immediately. "Star, shut up! Look around you!"

"What are you-" Even though she was still mad at her for sticking her pointy horn into her back, something told her to check her surroundings. And what she saw snapped her back into reality so hard she was starting to feel whiplash from the rapid-fire range of emotions she had just experienced.

"Oh."

Most of the cones surrounding them had loosened themselves from the ground. There was an army of gnomes surrounding them, glowing and smiling as they paced toward them from all sides. They were up against impossible odds, armed with only a single weapon of questionable efficacy. It was a situation that was like countless others they have been in before, with the exception that, unlike in those other situations, Star's wand may not be able to diffuse the situation, or wreak enough havoc to create an opening for them.

"Now what?" asked Janna.

"Uhm…" Star wasn't really sure. Her instincts were telling her to use the wand and blast them, but she knew doing just attacking them might be a recipe for disaster. "I'm not sure."

United, all the gnomes made a step closer to the girls.

" _WE SEE THEM!_ "

And another one.

" _WE NEED THEM!_ "

Now the distance between them was inducing a panic in their minds.

" _WE SHALL HAVE THEM!_ "

It's now or never, Star thought. "Girls, get close to me!"

"What are you going to do?!" asked Pony Head with a bit of concern.

In her panic, Star's resolve to stay alive gave her a fresh idea for a new spell. She raised her wand over her head, firmly holding it up with both arms, closed her eyes, focused and took a deep breath. "VANILLA HURRICANE EXPLOSION!"

To both of her friends' shock, she let the wand go. And despite expectations, it ignored the laws of gravity and stubbornly kept floating in the air.

"Get down!" Star grabbed Janna, who was still holding Pony Head, and pushed her down to the ground.

While they couldn't see what was going on above them, they were able to hear it. First, there was a rising, high-pitched noise coming from the wand, to which the gnomes reacted in similar fashion. Shortly after reaching a certain frequency, there was a loud, but muffled explosion. As if the bag of a vacuum cleaner had just exploded in another room. Following this they could only hear a confusing mix of screeching, yelping, and strong wind circling all around them. But, the sounds were getting farther away from them, until they could barely hear it all somewhere up above them.

Star dared to open her eyes first. The wand was laying next to her in the dirt. She saw a mess around her, but thankfully no gnomes. Did her impromptu spell really work? She looked up and breathed a momentary sigh of relief.

She didn't try to explain what she did. Instead she just bumped into Janna to get her attention. When Janna raised her eyes, Star just pointed up toward the sky. With concern and curiosity both, Janna inspected the air above.

"Are those…"

"Yes," replied Star curtly.

"And they are just…"

"Yep."

"But aren't they absorbing-"

"Uhm."

Janna couldn't believe her eyes. All the gnomes that were sharpening their teeth to feast on their eyes moments ago were now violently floating in the air, bound together by a weird clump of light strings. As the spell was trying to keep the gnomes restrained, they were absorbing more and more of the magical energy from it. What was a ball of hungry gnomes just moments before, was now a light bulb growing rapidly more and more brilliant.

Pony Head was up until this point completely silent, as she too was mesmerized by the show above. But she couldn't ignore the imminent conclusion to this bright spectacle.

"Say, Star, they are gonna explode, aren't they?"

"I think so, yes."

"So, in that case I'd like to make a suggestion." She kicked her sparkling motor, flew up and with the frantic voice of a person that deeply cherish life she yelled, "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Without any hesitation she fired straight for the manor. After a brief exchange of glances, Star and Janna followed after Pony Head.

"This was your helpful idea?!" Pony Head yelled as she motioned back toward the glowing deathball.

"We have our eyes, don't we?"

"-which won't do us much good if we're burned into ashes!"

"Just get to the manor!"

The remaining distance to the entrance was fortunately quite short, and within 15 seconds they were upon it and attempting to open the massive doors but to no avail.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" yelled Pony Head as she watched Star's futile attempts to open them. Out of frustration she tried to use her horn to drill through, but they refused to budge. "Open up, you stupid piece of wood!"

Janna made the mistake of turning back to check on the spell. The light bulb was now a mini sun and was beginning to explode.

"Guys, it's going critical!"

And just like that, the doors opened themselves inexplicably. They looked at each other nervously for a moment. It was the sound of the detonation of magic behind them that spurred them to leap for the now accessible entrance, allowing them to practically tumble and roll through it. Pony Head swiftly turned around and she slammed the doors shut.

Suddenly the air had grown still and quiet once again. Only the sound of their heavy breathing echoed throughout the foyer. Looking at each other, they realized that they had been holding in the air in their lungs for some time. They survived what could be best described as the threat of a magical supernova. Another wave of relief washed over them, allowing to feel as though they've earned this moment's respite.

"We did it," noted Janna in between gasps for air. "We did it."

Star smiled at her. "Yeah…"

"So Marco is supposed to be in here, huh?"

"Yes. I mean, he has to be here."

"Where else would he be?" agreed Pony.

"Yeah, where else…" uttered Star in a low, almost silent voice.

Where else indeed. She hadn't allowed herself to think about the possibility, but now that she reached this place, she couldn't help but wonder if she was on the right track after all. On the one hand, her logic was sound: her path led directly here and the horrifying monsters they've dealt with all along the way were, if nothing else, a hint. She couldn't help but assume that they wouldn't be here unless they were protecting something; or someone. But on the other hand, straight-forward logic doesn't really apply in this place. She also didn't hold all the cards. Maybe these creatures are really all over the place when you're in this deep. Maybe it was a big distraction and she was just choosing to be convinced by it. Maybe she was just losing her mind. It was hard to tell at this point for her.

Star took a moment and just looked around her. This was a manor all right. Majestic, luxurious, and spacious; almost everything about this place screamed wealth. That said, there were a number of more modest details about the house that made it feel more liveable and even meager. The lighting was a bit dim, perhaps to set ambience, but almost seeming to betray a desire to save candles. The carpeting was breathtaking, but it was also not perfectly kept and deviated from the bright flush of familiar sights like hers and Pony Head's castles. Some parts of the manor could almost rival the fanciness of Mewni's Royal Castle, but the whole thing remained down to earth. The colors were a little less regal, opting out of the strong purples and reds and going for a darker maroon and other wooded colors, perhaps intentionally seeking to stand out. The manor seemed to speak out to her as if to say "Something's off about the details, but it is better this way." Without even realizing it, she began to kind of adore this place.

Janna's voice pulled her back out of her thoughts. "Well, it's great that we are here and _not_ out there, dead, but I don't think sight-seeing is why we went to all the trouble."

Star looked over and studied Janna's features. She found in her eyes her typical, calm expression, if a bit tainted by a hint of worry. She wasn't exactly sure which of those two elements made her more uncomfortable.

"You're right. This is-" She looked around searching for at least a hint of confirmation that she was right. "-hopefully the correct place." Sadly, the interior didn't reveal any clues.

Pony Head decided that she needed a give a gentle nudge to move along the search. "Maybe what we need is to split up and start searching this… this…"

"Pony, it's not that easy," Star tried to argue.

"Wait!"

Pony's sudden, dramatic reaction made Star jumpy. She raised her wand and started randomly pointing it around her. "What? Who? Where? Is it Eclipsa?! I'll blast her, just show me where to shoot!"

But her friend wasn't paying attention to her at all. Something else captured her full, undivided attention. " _sniff_ " A smell. _sniff-sniff._ "Where is that coming from?" It was a very distinct, rather pleasant aroma.

"I smell nothing," answered Star.

"Neither do I," concurred Janna.

"No, it is here, somewhere. I just-" _sniiiiiiiiiiiif!_ "Oh yeah, they're close."

Star looked at her, perplexed. "What is?" The last time she saw her this riled up over a smell was when they broke into castle's kitchen and they first smelled...

"... VANILLA COOKIES!" And just like that, she flew away in search for the source of this delicious aroma.

Star didn't even had the chance to react. "Wait, what? What smell? Hey! Pony Head, come back!"

Janna was equally confused, but for a different reason. "Vanilla cookies? What's that about?"

"It- Sigh! It's a long story. Come on, we need to catch her before she does something hasty."

"You mean before she does something to _us_."

"Yeah, with Pony it usually ends that way."

Thankfully the way in which she disappeared was pretty much straightforward. The hallway did contain a few doors on both sides, but nothing suggested that a crazed Pony Head went through any of them. And then there was this odd smacking sound coming from not too far off down the hall.

It led them into a neatly designed kitchen connected to a living space. The connecting room was empty and dark, but the kitchen itself was lit up. It was not much light, but there was just enough for them to notice a table in the middle, with small drops all over it. They looked behind it.

"Pony?" asked Star in surprise.

She was still gorging herself with cookies. Pony looked up at the faces of her friends. "Don't judge me, Star. You know I can't resist them."

But Star had very little understanding for her cookie passion. "Don't you realize where we are?!"

"They're delicious!"

"They're probably a trap!"

Pony stopped eating for a while, as if she was waiting for something to happen. Deep silence surrounded them, but other than that nothing suggested that anything sinister was about to happen.

"Nah, I'm good!" she smiled and continued to finish the last plate of vanilla cookies. When she finished it, she just sat down with pure satisfaction on her face. "Wow!" _burp_ "Those had to be the best vanilla cookies I've ever had!"

"Damn it, Pony!"

"Hey! I tend to binge eat when I'm under stress. You know that."

"Did you forget where we are and what's going on right now?!"

"Huuuuuuge stress."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, but I think I'm just getting too tired to pay attention." Pony Head yawned and her eyes began to droop.

"Are you for real right now?!"

"Yep, this place is a perfect spot. I'll just-" _zzzzz_.

"Unbelievable!"

This was too weird even for Janna. "She really just did that, didn't she?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Now what?"

"Well, we can't leave her here."

"I'll take her."

Star looked at Janna with mild suspicion. "That's… uncharacteristically kind of you."

"It's purely practical: the only thing between Eclipsa and us is you and your wand."

"Riiight."

Janna bent over to pick Pony up off the ground. "UGH! What the heck? Did those cookies have lead in them or something?"

"That's weird," said a surprised Star. "She isn't supposed to be THAT heavy. Let me try." She grabbed the sleeping Pony Head and tried to pick her up as well, but similar to Janna she failed. "What on Mewni…? What was in those cookies anyway?"

They both kept staring at her, trying to think of a solution. Star was the first to have one.

"Maybe if we-"

She didn't have the chance to finish her thought, because shortly after she started talking a weird noise started to come out of Pony Head.

"The heck is that?!" asked Janna in shaking voice.

She got her answer when several small tentacles came out of Pony's bottom. At first they were just crawling senselessly around, but after a few seconds they somehow managed to attach themselves to the floor and began to drag her body under the sink. It was quite the horrific spectacle seeing her head being compressed so that it could fit through the tight space. The noises it started to emanate once it hid itself from their sights were even more downright disturbing.

"Yeah," noted Janna, "we're definitely not in Kansas anymore."

The noises were getting louder and there was some ugly goo coming out from below the sink, which was now shaking a little. They both exchanged looks and silently agreed that it was time to leave. They backed away slowly and then made a break for the entrance. If they could only reach the lobby...

They were stopped by the sudden reappearance of Pony Head in front of them.

"Bah!" yelled Star. "Get back!"

"Guys, what's wrong?" asked a sleepy Pony Head. "What, were you gonna just leave me there?"

Tense and weary, Star aimed her wand ahead defensively. "Who or what are you?"

"What do you mean? It's me: Pony Head."

"We saw what those cookies did to you."

"Oh yeah, they totally knocked me out. I fell asleep almost immediately. I must have had too many of them I guess, hahahaha."

"What? But what… How did you… And then…"

"What are you mumbling about, B-fly?"

Star looked at Janna for assurance that she wasn't losing her mind. She, too remained unconvinced.

"I've watched enough horror movies to know where this is going. You aren't fooling us with your pretense."

Pony Head held the sleepy and mellow look on her face for just a few moments longer, perhaps thinking of another convincing explanation.

"Oh well."

Pony Head's smile contorted into a more devilish grin, and the facade shattered completely.

What followed would haunt Star forever. In a swift and clean manner, Pony Head opened her mouth to size that no Pony Head should be capable of, chomped down on Janna's head and ate it. A mere 3 seconds were needed for the whole moment to play out. Star couldn't move a single muscle or do anything to stop it.

"Wha- wha- wha-"

Janna's headless body went down almost instantly.

"Yummy." Pony's response was cold and lifeless, which only strengthened Star's fear. "You're next, princess." She took her time to fully unhinge her huge mouth, revealing several tentacles moving inside.

Maybe it was pure despair that finally took hold of her. Maybe it was frustration from not seeming to get any closer to Marco while losing all of her friends along the way. But at that moment an adrenaline rush gave her a much needed moment of lucidity and her second wind.

She grabbed her wand tightly, leapt backwards, performed a pirouette and angrily shouted "SPARKLING WHIRLWIND LASSO!" Her wand transformed into a fancy looking whip and captured Pony into its firm grasp.

Star looked into Pony Head's surprised eyes and whispered: "I think this place needs a little redecorating, how about you?" Her words were twisted, cold, and seemed to lack all restraint. She let herself go, with all of her rage releasing in violent bursts. Each one gave her the strength to smash the possessed Pony Head in to the ground, the walls, and the ceiling, sometimes breaking through parts of the structure. Each time she struck Pony Head against a surface, a few colorful sparks were released.

"YOU LIKE THAT?!"

And she wasn't stopping. She didn't want to stop. It felt so relieving to be able to let her impulsive take control again. To do what she desired deep inside her to do ever since she lost Marco: to smack that witch against the rocks.

After only a minute, the place was pretty much in ruins. Nothing suggested that this was the same lobby of the fancy manor that they were standing in before. Now there was only dust, rubble and a seriously angry if somewhat exhausted princess. Pony Head was, after all the smashing, essentially done for; it was no longer just her voice that registered as lifeless.

Heavily breathing, furiously looking around, Star returned her wand back to its original form. After calming down, she saw the result of her rampage. She also realized something else, a fact that she was pushing back to her mind so she wouldn't have to deal with it. Pony Head's and Janna's bodies, nonetheless, were a painful reminder to her of all that she had lost. And, so far, that there was nothing she gained from this crusade.

Still, she couldn't afford to mourn. Yes, she could just give up, sit down and let the inevitable run over her. But that would make the losses pointless, without reason. That was a reality she simply could not accept.

"ECLIPSA!" she yelled from her diaphragm. "I'm still standing! Now, you either give me Marco, or I'll turn this whole place into a crater!" She waited for a while, but received no response. "I have nothing else to lose! Give him up or face the consequences!"

She waited some more until, eventually, she had her answer. The surroundings subsided into pitch black until there was nothing else. She found herself standing in perpetual darkness. It was quiet at first, but that silence lasted for only a few seconds.

"I must say, that was quite the performance."

"Eclipsa!" She couldn't see her, but she could clearly hear her voice coming from all sides.

"Of course, were you expecting someone else?"

"Where is Marco?!"

"Safe." Eclipsa made a dramatic pause to let Star's frustration brew inside her. "With me."

After all the things the young princess had gone through, she really didn't have the patience for anymore games, so she just pointed her wand at random target and released a magical blast. It didn't hit anything.

"Hmpf." Even though Star couldn't see the woman, she could still hear all the sarcasm and contempt in her voice. "You know, back at the castle, I thought you were just a spoiled brat."

She let out a brief, nerve-plucking chuckle and paused once again before letting her tone change to one of stern disregard.

"But now I see that you're an entitled, spoiled brat."

"I WANT HIM BACK!"

"I hate brats who behave like you," continued Eclipsa, ignoring Star's demand. "I was keen on teaching that to my ungrateful daughter, but recently I realized my efforts weren't enough." She went silent again, leaving Star alone with her own anger.

"SHOW YOURSELF!"

"But that is ancient history now. Let's talk about the future." She stepped out of the darkness right behind Star's back. She let out a light, chilling whisper that resounded directly in her ear "I am right here."

Star jumped and reflexively spun around, taking a step back and raising her wand without hesitation. She tried to blast her away, but Eclipsa was prepared and she deflected the blast with her own wand.

"You really should learn to respect your elders."

"You are NOT my-" The moment Star layed her eyes on Eclipsa, she froze in place. "Wha-" Her hands began to shake. As much as she didn't want to believe her own eyes, she couldn't just ignore the apparent change in Eclipsa's shape.

"Oh, you mean this?" she smiled and put her hand on her rather large belly. "You can call it a... happy little accident."

All of the time Star was forced to dedicate to prepare herself for this encounter and even the terrors along the way couldn't dampen her determination. But this revelation did something that none of the previous trials had managed to do to her before in her life: it made her feel utterly defeated.

"I guess I don't really have to tell you who the happy father is, but just to be sure there are no misunderstandings between us: it's Marco. Oh!" she gasped. "The night when he came after me… He was so full of passion! There were moments where I thought I wouldn't able to keep up with him! Until recently I wasn't even aware of the existence of humans, but having Marco in my bed made the 300-year-long imprisonment worthwhile." She wasn't simply telling her what happened. Every word that came out of her mouth was dripping with her deepest emotions, feelings flowing out just to let Star feel what happened that night. "Oh, dear, why such a sad face? You didn't really think he would come back to you after tasting me, now did you?"

Defeated without a single shot fired her way, with mere words; Star felt sick to her stomach. She thought that just losing Marco to Eclipsa was the worst feeling she had ever beared in her life, but she was now learning that there were emotions far worse than that.

"You're just a girl. I am a woman. There was never even a competition. What did you give him? Hugs and kisses? Please! I made him experience things you couldn't even imagine." Every word was impacting Star like a huge boulder crushing her heart. It hurt in ways she couldn't even begin to express.

It was immeasurably enjoyable for Eclipsa to watch her adversary break down. But there was still one more ace up her sleeves that she could use to finish the girl off. "Oh, you don't believe me? Maybe you would want to hear it from the young man himself. Dear, please, step forward."

Right next to Eclipsa, a younger, more familiar person emerged from the darkness that surrounded this place. Star expected to see a red hoodie, but instead she saw clothing not much different from Eclipsa's. This would normally make her uneasy, however at this point she was emotionally dead inside, devoid of emotion. It soon became apparent that Marco's face, too shared the same feature.

"Marco, sweetheart, would you kindly explain to this young lady what happened that night?" It was apparent that she expected an immediate answer that just wasn't coming at all. She didn't like that one bit. "I said, would you kindly describe what happened during our first night together?" She tried to sound as arrogant as before, but Marco's reluctance to comply made her a bit angry.

This time Marco did reply. "It was the best night of my life." His handler was obviously satisfied with his answer, which was shown by a gentle caress on the head.

The words were there, but emotions were not, and Star picked up on this. Even though it was still painful for her to accept that she had lost that special night with him, with permanent repercussions no less, his lifeless reaction gave her a small hope that maybe she still might have a chance to get him back. But even if this was true, she would still need to figure out how to get them out of this situation. And she was sorry to admit that she didn't have the foggiest idea how.

"Good boy." Eclipsa's proudness in Marco's answer was painfully obvious, almost as if he was her puppy. This resurgence of her confidence in his compliance not only fortified her position in this situation over Star, but strengthened her resolve enough to come down on her even harder. She stood up and with the wand in her hand and with the grace of woman four months pregnant, she went up toward Star. "I'm feeling generous. Therefore I'm giving you a choice: stay here and I will make your life a living hell, or return home, forget about Marco, and never return. It all boils down to how much you desire to keep living."

Star's emotional display didn't change after her offer… much. Before gazing toward the floor in total defeat, she fleetingly checked Marco's stone-like face just in time to see his lips moving.

"Well? What would it be?" Eclipsa demanded an answer.

"You are right," Star said. "You could make my life a living hell. However," she raised her head and looked into Eclipsa's eyes with a newfound determination, "you already did that when took Marco from me." Before the witch could properly react to her stubbornness, Star swiftly pulled up her wand, aimed it at her chest and screamed "NARWHAL BLAST!".

Eclipsa tried to deflect her attack by opening her wand, but she was simply too close to react quickly enough. She took the full brunt of the blast and got shoved quite a distance from Star. And it was she who had the upper hand now.

"Don't make threats to a person who has nothing else to lose!"

Now free of both Butterfly royals attention, Marco was suddenly able to move freely when Eclipsa hit the floor.

Eclipsa's first reaction was a physical check of her belly in panic. After reaching a conclusion that everything was alright, she gazed piercingly at Star with pure hatred in her eyes, entirely ignoring the fact that Marco was attempting to communicate with her.

"If you are so keen on losing your life, I will end it for you right her and right now!" She stood back up on her feet and pointed her wand on Star. "That was the last time you will ever threaten me or my child!"

Star wasn't scared one bit. "Bring it on, grandma!"

Both were prepared to blow a hole clean through one another and taking into account the events so far, Star would most probably fail miserably. That is if it wasn't for the third participant that, somehow, had been left forgotten in this whole mess.

"GUYS, STOP!" Marco placed himself right in the middle between two angry royals that were about to cut each other's throats. "Don't do this!"

Both Star and Eclipsa were shocked by his interruption, albeit for completely different reasons.

"Marco?! What are you doing? How can you defend her after what she has done to you?!"

"Marco, get behind me this instant! I won't allow my child to be raised without its father! Not again!"

He did plan to stop them, but he didn't think far enough ahead as to how. His only chance was to improvise. Despite this, he started to realize that even reasoning with Star would be very difficult because he knew she was right about Eclipsa; even he himself wasn't able to forgive her to any degree. He was used and abused to a degree that will leave a lifelong mark on him. You just don't walk away from that as if nothing happened. But he also couldn't force himself to feel anything else but pity for the unborn child. His child. He simply wasn't ready to accept the responsibilities of fatherhood. And even though he did take pride in his personal growth during the last year, he was still much too far away from being confident in and comfortable with the idea of having to watch a little copy of himself. Despite all of this, he couldn't just hold the child responsible for the actions of its mother. He wouldn't be any better than her.

But how he could go about reaching a compromise between those two women when he wasn't even able to find it within himself, he did not know. Whatever plan was slowly brewing in his mind, it didn't matter, because the universe didn't give him the chance to implement it; it was too busy falling apart.

It started as a sudden and strong nausea in both Star and Eclipsa. He could understand such behaviour in Eclipsa considering her pregnancy, but Star seemed healthy. And the fact that they both went to the ground simultaneously was even weirder.

"Uhm, are you both okay?"

"What did you do?!" Eclipsa demanded an explanation.

"Me?! You're the one threatening my life!"

"Don't pretend to be stupid, girl! I know-".

There was it again. But while before it looked unpleasant, now he could see pain on their faces. He wasn't really sure who to comfort first at first, though the longing to be with Star eventually won over his sense of responsibility. When he touched her to check if she was alright, he once again felt the rush he experienced every time he was near here. Whatever his rational mind might have been trying to convey, his heart made him feel comfortable in his choice.

"Star, are you alright?"

"Marco…" She was finally back with him, but because of the pain she wasn't able to fully appreciate it. "It hurts."

"What is happening to you?"

"I don't know! It feels like… I'm going away."

Marco was shocked by her answer. "You mean you're dying?!"

"I don't kn- AAA!"

Marco watched as the pain grew visibly stronger in both of them.

"Marco!" Eclipsa was desperately trying to reach out to him. "Help me!"

Now this situation did raise some serious moral questions inside him. It was one thing to comfortably believe that being with the girl he loves takes priority over woman expecting his child, when there was a mere discomfort. It was something different entirely when said woman is laying on the ground, begging for his help in fear of losing that child. But had no desire to abandon Star either.

He was alone and confused. "I don't know what to do! I'm not prepared for all of this!"

Although he did feel conflicted and horrible for even having such feelings in the face this situation, the universe made him face an even bigger threat. Whatever this place was that Eclipsa had created, it started to break down. It started with cracks, pure white in color, that were running along the edges of the place. Shortly after that they began to break down, revealing holes back to the outside world. Most of them weren't showing anything interesting, but some did let in rays of bright, white light.

And still it wasn't everything. The pieces from the walls and ceiling weren't falling down onto them. They were simply vanishing, as if they were never there in the first place. Piece by piece, the place was going into oblivion right before his eyes. Star and Eclipsa didn't pay any attention to anything happening around, as they were too busy wallowing in agony. Marco was powerless and clueless.

Thinking nothing worse could happen in this bizarre situation, he was proven wrong when he started to hear screams. Loud and intense voices screamed in fear. It didn't take long until the whole place was simply gone and he was sitting in the middle of the garden, allowing him to see in the distance through holes the Mewni castle meeting its same demise. Despite the distance, he felt as if those people were running around him. He checked on both girls and noticed that they stopped shaking from pain and fell unconscious. She took Star to his arms and moved her next to Eclipsa so that he could have both of them near him.

But it wasn't just objects going away. The sky was turning white and, to his horror, the ground as well. Whatever was happening, it was obvious that the entire dimension seemed to be turning in on itself and allowing everything to just go away. He realized there was nothing he could do and so he just hugged tightly to both Butterflies and waited for the inevitable.

"There you are."

He didn't expect to hear anyone's voice beside the screaming in the background, so he was genuinely shocked to see a familiar little blue man floating above them.

"Glossaryck!"

"It took me a while to find you."

"What is happening? Where is everyone? How do we stop it? Where do we go?"

"Whoa there! Calm down."

"Calm down?! The whole world is disappearing!"

"Yes, I've noticed."

"Aren't you going to do something about it?"

"No, not really."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!"

"Look, Marco, you can keep yelling at me until we all vanish. Or you can listen to what I have to say before that happens."

"What difference would that make?"

"The difference between life and death, my boy. So, what will it be?"

Marco looked at the havoc all around. "Sure, what else do I have to lose?"

"Now, listen to me carefully. A few days ago, did you happen to stumble upon an unfinished tapestry of an unknown queen?"

"I'm not that familiar with royal family's lineage, but we did find something like that tapestry."

"And did this tapestry try to persuade you to find its missing pieces?"

"I'm not sure."

"Think! It's important!"

"No! I don't believe we did. Just… something weird happened, I'm not even sure what exactly anymore. All I know is that me and Star became closer."

This information made Glossaryck perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I realized how much I care about Star and that I love her."

"That… shouldn't have happened."

"I don't know what was suppose to happen. All I know I wanted to be with Star. Until this crazy old witch kidnapped me and turned me into her personal puppet. And," he touched Eclipsa's belly, "something more. But why does it matter? We're going to die anyway, aren't we?"

Glossaryck wasn't paying attention to him anymore. "Could it be? Could she still after all this time…?"

"What are you on about?"

Marco was so caught up in the discussion that he didn't realize that most of the world was now a plain white space. Only a few square meters of the world around him were still intact. And even that was quickly shrinking.

"Glossaryck! Can you help or not?!"

"Marco, listen carefully! Did anything else happened besides the thing with that tapestry? Anything unusual since you've met with Star?"

"This is unbelievable! How can you still be so cryptic even in the face of imminent death?!"

"This is important! There still might be a chance!"

Eclipsa suddenly started to slip away from Marco's hold. He didn't notice the ground below her feet just went puff. It took him some trying, but he managed to keep her with him. However even that wasn't enough to keep her safe some few moments more, because she too began to vanish; he could see his own hand through her increasingly incorporeal form. To his dismay the same thing was beginning to happen to Star. He looked up with contempt in his eyes.

"Do you know what I hate about this? That I had to spent my last few breaths on you instead of ta- Wait, what's this?"

"Is something happening?" asked Glossaryck with hope in his voice.

"There is a red light around me. And Star and Eclipsa are solid again! What did you do?"

"Fascinating. What do you see above you?"

"Above me? Nothing, just white."

"Look closely."

"I- Wait, no. Behind me. There is… I've seen this before."

"It's Blood Moon, isn't it?"

Marco didn't answer. He was hypnotized by the brooding red light shining over him, completely ignoring not only Glossaryck, but also the fastly shrinking island beneath him. There was nothing else around, except for the last piece of sky above and the little blue man hovering next to him.

"Hmm. Maybe you can pull th-" his voice was abruptly silenced.

Surprisingly enough, Marco didn't feel fear anymore. Whatever his worries might have been just a few moments ago, they were washed away by the red shimmering light covering their entire bodies. He closed his eyes and let the universe to take him away along with the last fragments of reality as they knew it.

 ** _To be continued in Pillars of Magic..._**

 **Chapter 17 was written by Terepin.**


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